The Boating Community
Photography and words by Megan Martin

In my twenty-six years of living I don’t think I’ve ever stepped aboard a yacht. A yacht—unlike the fishing boat I went on that rocked along a grey sea as I clutched the floor praying not to spew—has levels and rooms, coolers full of bubbly and refrigerators full of hors d’oeuvres and places to enjoy the aftermath of both. It is without question, a place of leisure, previously reserved for people like Jimmy Buffet and Beyonce who could afford to sail off to Margaritaville with captain and crew at a moment’s notice. However, where there's a will there is a way. 

Whether by luck or association, a group of bartender friends found a way to spend their Mondays off aboard one of these luxury vessels drinking copious amounts of beer, wine and champagne, basking in the breezy heat of a New York summer and flinging water balloons at the nearby tour boats floating along the harbor. They were now a part of the boating community. And as pretentious as it once appeared to be, they found (as bartenders often do) that luxury is a way of life adopted by those who choose it – rather than those entitled to it.

Here are a few snapshots of the days of yachting in Summer of Love 09.