CHARTER & ENJOY CARE FREE BOATING ARTICLE BY JEFF SUBLETT JUSTINE WORKING THE LOWER HARBOR If you ve picked up the magazine you ve already met our lovely cover girl, Justine, she s available for charter and your boating pleasure with absolutely none of the usual cares of boat ownership. As a matter of fact for the time you are aboard, this yacht and her crew will be totally dedicated to your enjoyment on the water. Like that old TV ad, sometimes it s better to leave the driving to others. Justine is certainly unique, but only one of many wonderful yachts for charter in the lower Hudson. We ll explore Justine and Prelude, and meet the people that make them so special. That should give you a feel for some of what s available and included is a site to let you check out a variety of other charter boats. The plan is to stay with the more intimate charter experiences in this article and in a follow up piece, visit the larger capacity, less personal dinner boats plying the river. Lets get back to our cover girl, Justine is an owner operated 97 foot motor yacht out of Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club on the Hudson River in Weehawken, NJ. Justine is unique because she s exclusively for charter and not a private yacht occasionally allowed out for charter, her whole reason for being is to cater to the charter client. She operates as a 12 passenger charter vessel and is usually out at least 2 or 3 times a week, mostly picking up in Manhattan for 3hour cruises around the lower harbor. The charter business was a plan B move for the co-owner Mikes. During the 2009 financial crash when cash was king, Michael Zlotowicz and his partner Mike Refalo were looking for a reno project and found Justine at auction in Tennessee. She s was a 1987, French built, 97 Guy Couach motor yacht in poor cosmetic condition. A one owner boat at the time, and as they say, a gal with great bones. Mike and Michael went to work and created a thoroughly elegant and modern updated yacht. That deck sits on a sharp, tough hull built of kevlar, fiberglass and baltek, and due to the military and patrol boat background of her builder, she could aptly be called bullet proof. She s 97 long x 21 beam and draws 5 10 with twin 12V92 Detroit Diesels, 2X32 Kilowatt generators and 6 JULY 2013 boatingonthehudson.com
carries 2800 gallons of fuel. She s a big girl, but sleek, and quick when she needs to be. The boat was moved to Miami from October 2009 through March 2011 for the renovation with the idea reselling her after she was back in pristine condition. Another side benefit of the financial situation was that labor, materials, and parts were also relatively inexpensive at the time, but the flip side of that equation was that there were few buyers for yachts during that same period. It seemed the only sales were for boats being given away, so the resale plan went out the window. Enter Plan B, bring the now beautiful Justine to New York and try the sale or charter route. No sale yet but a very successful charter business has developed over the last two years, much to the relief of Mike Z s wife who had just given birth to their now two year old baby. It seems Justine fills a rather unique niche in the charter business in this area. She s a luxurious 97 foot yacht, with every possible convenience and amenity you can imagine, available for charter tours of the lower harbor any time, any day of the week. An upscale clientele has come forward to book intimate meals, meetings, and just plain fun afternoons or evenings aboard Justine. If you re looking for a fabulous and memorable event for up to 12 people, this is it. The crew/ owners will make sure no detail is overlooked to insure the pleasure of their guests, whether on Justine s sunny outdoor lounges, the upper deck grill, cozy indoor spaces, at the bar, the formal dining area or her multiple staterooms. Celebrity chefs and bartenders are a regular occurrence aboard Justine, so the only thing you ll have to lift is your glass. Enjoy a full tour of Justine at their website www.yachtjustine.com. According to Mike it s smooth sailing in New York harbor, incredible landmarks and skyline views with Hollywood lighting by beautiful sunsets. I think this, Justine, works so well because these guys are talented and really love what they are doing. The only issues for the crew cruising the harbor are some tricky interactions with the multitude of ferries plowing the river, but only for the crew. Justine photos by Timothy A Phillips and for Justine charters please contact Prestige Yacht Charters, www.prestigeyachtcharters.com or 212-717- 0300. The other yacht I want to introduce you to is quite a different top shelf experience. The Prelude is a 54foot center cockpit sailing ketch out of the 79th Street Marina in Manhattan. She s sailed by Captain Ed Bacon and his lovely wife Regina Jordan (The Commodore). Regina is a CIA trained chef and the crew is rounded out by Admiral Ollie, a mini Maltese-Poodle. Prelude is a 1980 Downeast 45, 54 feet overall with hefty and stable14 foot beam. She was built at the Downeast shipyard in Santa Ana California to be rugged enough to cruise the world s oceans in safety and comfort. Her bold bowsprit, hourglass transom stern, and multiple masts and sails give the impression of sailing ships of old which belies her thoroughly modern equipment, décor, and amenities, perhaps the best of both worlds. Prelude certainly has served her owners well through the years and always provides her guests a pleasant, exciting and memorable cruise. A life long sailor Ed found Prelude in Venice, Florida in 1984 where her original owners were living aboard and doing some local cruising. They had purchased the yacht new in Continued On Page 10... boatingonthehudson.com JULY 2013 7
FOR SALE Spectacular Riverfront Home with Private Deep Water Dock $1,500,000 1989 4280 CRUISERS EXPRESS BRIDGE If you re looking to step up in size and comfort, take a look at this Cruisers Express Bridge. This vessel has been highly customized with options like: T/ 6V-53 400 HP Detriot Diesel Engines Customized Hard Top w/2 Hatches Hydraulic-Opening Center Windshield A/C and Heated Bridge (seats 10-12) Nautical Structures Elec Winch (600# cap) Molded Steps to Wide Walkaround Deck Hinged Engineroom Panels in Cockpit Barrier Coated Hull Dual Elec System 30 Amp & 50 Amp Glendinning Engine Synchronizer System Glendinning Cable Master System Onan Genset 8Kw 3 A/C Units Raytheon Radar Raytheon GPS Boat US Seaworthy Inflatable w/ 9 HP Evenrude O/B visit SpinnakerHillon Hudson.com Asking $85,000 mohawk.pdf 1 6/14/13 PM BUY THIS BOAT FOR $16K DOWN11:34 & PAYMENTS OF $550 PER MO. (THRU SCOTT FINANCING) Call Dennis at 914-755-9087 Dianne Minogue Associate Broker, ABR, SRES Emerald Award Winner Top 1%, Dutchess Co. Realtors 914-204-7120 DianneMinogue.com! 8 JULY 2013 boatingonthehudson.com 1989 Route 52 East Fishkill, NY 12533
A Little Courtesy and Consideration Goes a Long Way... The river is made up of diverse groups and individuals including rowing shells, fisherman, kyakers, swimmers, as well as Boats of all sizes. We must respectfully slow down when passing each other. West Shore for COMPLETE SERVICE ENGINES FIBERGLASS BOTTOM PAINTING CANVAS Fabrication/Repair Shop on Premises SUMMER/WINTER BOAT SLIPS STORAGE PARTS & SERVICE 845-236-4486 8 April 2012 boatingonthehudson.com boatingonthehudson.com JULY 2013 9
1980 and after 4 years aboard decided to extend their cruising areas but ran into some bad weather. It seems when they got back to port the wife put the boat up for sale, an all too familiar story/ultimatum that turned out to be very good luck for Ed. Ed purchased the boat, sailed Prelude back home to New York and entered the charter trade. In 1985 on an early charter for some friends and former colleagues at IBM, Ed met Regina. Another lucky event for Ed, they, Ed, Regina and Prelude, and now Ollie are still together. There is something-special going on here, considering how Ed came to purchase the boat. ED and Regina have been Chartering Prelude in New York Harbor for 28 years, including 14 winters in the Eastern Caribbean and Ed s been living aboard Prelude or one his previous boats at the West 79th street Boat Basin for the past 42 years. Regina has trained at the Culinary Institute of America and in previous lives Ed and Regina worked in corporate marketing and systems. Both Ed and Regina are avid snorkel and scuba divers and have cruised Prelude extensively from New England to South America, all of which makes for riveting conversation on board if guest are so inclined, I know my time aboard seemed to pass all too soon. Prelude operates with a maximum of six passengers for harbor and river cruises. Prelude delivers a truly exquisite experience ghosting silently along the river under sail with meals prepared by her own CIA Chef. All served in a variety of cozy spots onboard, including several casual seating and dining arrangements on deck or a more formal setting below in the gracious main salon. For the full tour of Prelude go to www.all-nyc-yachts.com and select Prelude from the alphabetical list In their spare time aboard Ed and Regina operate a directory and booking service for many of the other charter yachts in the area, including Justine, boats accommodating guest from 1 to 1201. At their website www.all-nyc-yachts.com you ll find boats to suit every conceivable charter need or desire. A call to NYC Yachts will get you to Ed or Regina and a wealth of boating information making any interaction a pleasant and valuable experience. Visit their other website www. iboatnyharbor.com for all the information you could possible want about the comings and goings in the lower Hudson and beyond including connections to weather, route planing assistance, currents and tide, and a host of other sites of interest to area boaters. A new endeavor in development by Ed in response to the Sandy disaster called FLOOD24, a sight devoted to the distribution of rapid and extremely local flood information on your smart phone, in case of future floods. There s a link to this project on the lower portion of the IBoatNYHarbor home page. The FLOOD24 site is still under development and Ed has asked that you feel free to check out the site and offer comments and suggestions as to improvements that might be made during this development process. So take some time, visit the included websites, and tap into the world of elegant, fun, and absolutely care free charter boating. As always have happy, healthy and safe boating season, and maybe even try some of that no worries boating. 10 JULY 2013 boatingonthehudson.com