NEW: Daily Tours from Midtown!

New York Media Boat now has a second great location in Manhattan!

You can still hop aboard at North Cove Marina in Downtown New York, but now we also offer daily tours from our new Midtown location at Chelsea Piers. The Adventure Sightseeing Tours and the Private Charters cover the same route, no matter which location you board our boats at and will take you under the Brooklyn Bridge and out to the Statue of Liberty.

Take a tour with us and then visit other nearby Midtown attractions:

• The Little Island

• The Highline

• Chelsea Market

• Hudson Yards

Insider tip: Grab lunch at Pier 57, and go to the rooftop for spectacular views over the Hudson River.

In town with kids? Chelsea Piers offers bowling, ice skating, and an arcade!

The map below shows our two departure locations.

We hope to welcome you aboard soon!

Statue of Liberty - Best Viewed from NY Media Boat

The Statue of Liberty is America’s most famous landmark. A universal symbol of freedom, hope, and democracy, she stands proudly in New York Harbor greeting anyone arriving by boat.

We offer two Statue of Liberty Boat Tours: Our ‘Adventure Sightseeing Tour’, and our 'Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge Speedboat Tour’ stop right in front of the Statue so you can take the best photos and selfies with her.

Why is it best to take photos from our boat rather than going on the island? Because our captains stop the boat at a perfect distance, with photography in mind. If you’re on Liberty Island you’re looking up at her and she seems distorted by the steep viewing angle. From Manhattan she’s too far away to get a good view. Our captains position our boats for a few minutes just outside the security zone and make sure everyone aboard has the opportunity to get great photos. She faces south-east and the best lighting on her face is before 1pm. In the afternoon she’s backlit by the sun, making for great silhouette pictures. From the Statue we’ll then head towards Ellis Island retracing the route the immigrants took arriving America from Europe.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France and opened in 1886 to the public. She was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and is clad in copper. Her torch reaches 305 feet into the sky and the tablet in her left hand reads the date of the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence. Seven spikes on her crown represent the seven seas and seven continents. Gustave Eiffel - the same guy who built some tower in Paris - designed the interior steel structure and she was shipped to America in many crates and assembled on site. The copper comes from a Norwegian mine, located in the town of Visnes in the southern part of Norway. We didn’t know this until we had passengers from that town aboard who told us about it and we thought that was a pretty cool so and we’ve added it to our narration. The pedestal, which she stands on, was funded by an early crowdsourcing initiative and is the same height as the statue itself.

The Statue of Liberty sure is a bucket-list item. If you like to go onto the island and inside her, you must take the large white ferries operated by Statue Cruises, that depart Battery Park on the very southern point of Manhattan. You should allow at least six hours for a visit. First you must go through airport-style security screening, then wait with hundreds of people in lines to board the ferries to the island, and again on the return trip. We keep hearing from our passengers that they much prefer viewing her from our boats as part of our tour, and have received many holiday cards from past passengers, stating it was the highlight of their trip to New York.

Check out our Photo Gallery of pictures we’ve taken of Lady Liberty, under brilliant sunsets and moon rises. And we hope to welcome you and your friends and family aboard!
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Checkmate, Duffy & Tayana

Matt O’Hara throttled his boat with authority, blasting past the New York City skyline. Calm winds and a long ocean swell made for good conditions to grab some action shots of our friend’s 28-foot Checkmate Powerboat catching air. The 1994 Checkmate Convincor is powered by twin Mercruiser engines delivering 770HP.

The plan was to take aerial photos of the dredging operation in Sandy Hook Channel, but we postponed the shoot when clouds moved in.

Instead we launched a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone and took some photos of our Duffy 35 cruising past Roamer Shoal Lighthouse. From this angle you can nicely see the waves breaking over the shallows just past the light!

On the return, we met up with Captain Eric Puleio of Narwhal Yacht Charters sailing on his Tayana 37. The ‘Genesis’ looked great under her three maroon sails and beautiful brightwork! If you haven’t booked a charter with them we can highly recommend it.

Reopening After the COVID-19 Shutdown

[Updated: 06/05/20] The New York Media Boat team is excited that New York Governor Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Murphy allows ‘For-Hire’ vessels to start operating again on June 8th! We will be running tours for single groups, and full compliance with Covid-19 precautions is in effect.

In order to limit potential exposure to our crew and passengers, we are currently only taking single-party bookings. That means every tour will be a private charter at our temporary special rate structure [subject to change at any time]. Call us to check for availability and to make your booking!

Private Charter up to 4 passengers: $480
Private Charter up to 6 passengers: $600
Private Charter up to 9 passengers: $950

IMPORTANT:

• When at the dock, we ask that you stay 6-feet apart from other people at all times.

• Your captain will give instructions on the boarding procedure.

• All high-touch areas on the boats are sanitized before and after each charter.

• We have disinfectant hand-wipes available for your use and encourage everyone to use them.

• You must bring your own jacket. We are not allowed to provide any equipment.

NEWS RELEASE

TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 146, which allows charter fishing services and for-hire vessel activities, as well as watercraft rental businesses, to open with required social distancing measures. These businesses can open on Sunday, May 17 at 6 am.

“Reopening charter fishing services and watercraft rental businesses restores an extremely important component of our Shore economy.” said Governor Murphy. “The social distancing measures that we are putting in place will ensure that these businesses can sustain themselves while still adhering to public health guidance.”

Charter fishing services and for-hire vessels will be allowed to reopen to the public so long as they adopt policies that include:

• reduced capacity to no more than 10 people on a vessel at any one time;

• electronic or telephone reservation and payment systems;

• no make-up or open boat trips;

• social distancing measures on the vessels and in waiting and boarding areas, including demarcation and signage;

• prohibiting sharing of fishing equipment, bait, and gear;

• limiting the use of nets or gaffs to the crew;

• infection control and hygiene practices;

• providing sanitization materials to passengers and crew;

• frequent sanitization of vessel and high-touch areas;

• The crew and passengers must wear a mask while aboard the vessel;

• prohibiting food and beverage service; and

• briefing all passengers prior to embarking on social distancing, capacity limits, and hygiene requirements.

Watercraft rental businesses will be allowed to reopen so long as they adopt policies consistent with the “curb-side pickup” restrictions that apply to retail establishments pursuant to Executive Order No. 142.

Thank You for Booking Direct!

We truly appreciate our passengers who book directly with us on our website!
It means a lot to us, as we won’t have to pay high commission fees to third party booking companies and instead it directly supports our operation and families.

Booking directly also guarantees you the best price and best customer service! For example, in case of inclement weather we do our absolute best to contact you as quickly as possible to see if you’d like to rebook to a different time or day. Most third party booking companies consider you their customer and in order to reach you, any message has to be relayed through them, which always delays the process.

You can always reach us at +1 347-789-0588 if you have any questions; or email tours@nymediaboat.com.

Thank you again and we hope to welcome you aboard!
-the NYMB Crew

A Unique Perspective on The Vessel at Hudson Yards

What is The Vessel?

The Vessel is New York’s newest icon. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio, the 16-story inhabitable sculpture has more than 2,500 steps and 80 individual landings. It’s an M.C. Escher drawing brought to life. The conical framework of intertwining staircases creates a seemingly infinite variety of paths to explore and vantage points for seeing the city.

How Can I See The Vessel?

There is no charge to visit Hudson Yards and explore this mega-development on your own. You do need tickets to climb The Vessel and the tickets are (currently) free. With Free Tickets, The Vessel has become very popular and there is frequently a wait as long as two weeks to make a booking.

So how can you see The Vessel on your next trip to New York? One of the most interesting perspectives is from the water. Hudson Yards takes its name from the Hudson River which sits directly next to this amazing new neighborhood. Every New York Media Boat tour stops on the river for a spectacular view of the entire complex, with the bronze, lattice-work Vessel proudly on display at the center.

When is the Best Time to See The Vessel?

Well, since The Vessel has only been open less than a year, no one can tell you the best time of year. As you may have noticed in the photos, The Vessel is covered in highly reflective copper. It seems to shimmer in the light. When viewing The Vessel from the water in the late afternoon, the sun reflects off the different facets and the effect is magnificent, as if the structure were made of liquid fire. Combined with the glass skyscrapers and The Highline in the foreground, it truly seems like The Vessel is something straight out of Oz.

Click below to book a spot on our tour and view our new stop at The Vessel!

Women Set Rowing Record

The first women's rowing team attempting to break the 43-day speed record across the North Atlantic fell just short of their goal, making landfall in Falmouth 49 days after leaving New York Harbor.

They did, however, become the first all-female crew to make the journey, led by Olympic rowing medalist Guinn Batton. 

 We snapped this shot of the team on board the 26-foot boat 'Liberty' on June 7, just off of Coney Island, with 3,000 miles of ocean still ahead of them.

Slow Start to America's Cup World Series

A fast-ebbing tide and a lack of wind nixed Saturday's races for the America's Cup world series in New York Harbor. But there wasn't a complete failure to foil -- the catamarans got lift from team support boats with tow lines during a parade of sail, and some managed to ride the minimal gusts that reared up every now and then. Here are a few shots from Saturday's show:

ORACLE Team USA gets towed past the crowds at North Cove Marina.

Land Rover Team Great Britain poses for the media boat cameras.

Emirates Team New Zealand finds some wind upriver.

Bomb Threat at Statue of Liberty

Visitors were evacuated shortly after 11am due to security concerns on Liberty Island. Statue Cruises sent their ships to move people off the island, as NYPD and U.S. Coast Guard vessels arrived and established a 1000-foot security zone around the island. The FDNY and other local fire departments staged their boats as well and the NYPD Bomb Squad was ferried to the Statue to investigate.

According to the National Park Service, a 911 caller had threatened to blow up the statue and K9 units detected an area of interest by the lockers said NYPD. A sweep of the island turned up negative and visitors will be able to return to the island on Saturday. The last time Liberty Island was closed to the public was after Hurricane Sandy caused major damage.

Swain swims Gowanus

Environmental activist Christoper Swain raised some major awareness this Earth Day by swimming in the toxic waters of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. He calls for an accelerated cleanup of the waterway, currently labeled a superfund site. Hundreds of people came out to see this stunt and anxiously awaited Swain, who is thought to be the first person in history to swim the entire length of the canal. Despite health officials’ recommendations and EPA advisories against coming into contact with the canal water, Swain donned his high-visibility drysuit, boots, gloves, and goggles and jumped in. The NYPD SCUBA Team was on standby, escorting him as he swam down the canal, under bridges lined with camera crews, photographers, and supporters cheering him on. He planned to swim the entire length of the canal, but approaching thunderstorms forced him to climb out early. He still made it some 8,000 feet and gave a press conference, dripping wet, in a Whole Foods parking lot.