Elite Event: Manhattan By Sail

Definitely one of my favorite Unilocal events so far. The weather was amazing and the view even better. The pineapple margaritas were pretty good too! I would recommend this place to friends and family visiting form out of town or someone look for a fun first date. It’s a great way to sit, relax, grab a drink and view the city and its boroughs as well as jersey — all at the same time!

This is my first Unilocal Event, and I am so happy I got to attend! I was in town for a couple weeks and decided to bring my friend along for this awesome evening. There weren’t as many people as I expected, so everyone got on the boat and we undocked very swiftly. The staff were very friendly, and the drinks were delicious. I am very light weight so I was on a good level after 3 drinks. First a tequila sunrise, then a pineapple margarita, and finally a mint mojito (which wasn’t free) had me giggling through the 2 hour cruise while admiring the NY skyline and the Statue of Liberty. It was a perfect evening that led to a drunken subway ride to Joe’s Shanghai for a late night dinner. Great experience!

What a great event! I was vacationing in NY for a week and happened to find this awesome Cinco de Mayo elite event that Ruggy was so kind to admit me to. For some reason, it wasn’t clear to me that the Clipper City was going to disembark at 7pm sharp in the description of the event. I suppose I assumed it was going to be more like the Battleship Iowa than the LA West yacht party. Nevertheless, my boyfriend and I arrived on time to meet Ruggy and check in for a romantic evening on the Hudson River. The slip was very easy to find and conveniently located near many subway lines.
Boarding the ship, it was very rocky while it was docked, which made me anticipate 2 long hours of seasickness in anxiety. Clipper City staff quelled my concerns, by advising me that the boat would be a lot smoother out of the dock, which was completely true! It was smooth sailing the whole time! We were given unlimited libations, compliments of Espolon, in the form of a pineapple tequila mixed drink or a fruit punch tequila mixed drink. Neither of which I hear was very strong. Unfortunately, there was no food (which we were advised about in advance) and no free Unilocal swag because we were sharing the boat with non-​Yelpers — sorry, I’m starting to sound like an «elite-​ist.»
Sitting by the helm, enjoying our libations, we were able to make friends with a couple of fellow Unilocalers, who also happened to be recent transplants from the West Coast! The schooner was cozy enough to get to know the person next to us, but spacious enough to wield our phones for multiple embarrassing selfies. The bathrooms were surprisingly clean and easy to maneuver while the ship was in motion or at the dock.
Chris and the rest of the Clipper City crew were very casual, friendly, and knowledgeable. Although the trip was during sunset, it was cloudy so we weren’t able to see very much. We did, however, get quite close to the Statue of Liberty and Freedom Tower to snag some pretty sweet snapshots. Nighttime came upon us pretty quickly, and us Californians were not prepared to brace ourselves for the unforgiving winds on the Hudson River. Luckily enough, it started to get breezy around the time we were making our journey back to land.
Definitely a unique experience I wouldn’t have taken advantage otherwise. Ruggy, I really appreciate your including me in the event! It was arghhhhh-​some!

So chill and relaxing! The Clipper City is a beautiful sailing ship that is docked in Battery Park near the Statue of Liberty sightseeing boats.
We had a great open bar with tequila drinks (margaritas and punches). Our wonderful bartenders were kind enough to add extra tequila shots in it. The service was impeccable, no long lines and great convo.
The crew was very friendly and told us the party later on was a Burlesque show! The owner of the boat gave us a little history of the name Clipper City (a replica of ships that hauled wood to Wisconsin).
We sailed NY Harbor, got extremely close to Lady Liberty and went up the Hudson. It was truly beautiful and a great ending to a long day. We met new Unilocalers too and there was a great mix of people.
Thanks Ruggy for coordinating an awesome sail and switching up the kinds of events Unilocal offers.

best event ever! this event is literally the reason why i proudly remain that annoying friend that zones out of the conversation immediately upon entering a venue in order to check in and maybe snap a pic or two. it was the loveliest way to spend cinco de mayo; knocking back delicious margaritas while taking in incredible views of lower manhattan, the statue of liberty and ellis island.
the bartenders were the shit — they were friendly and the «new guy» recommended a delicious cocktail with a smokey tequila for me to try that wasn’t on the menu. the crew was the shit — the captain (i guess?) was pretty funny, especially when we realized he really wasn’t at all familiar with Unilocal,who we were, what we were doing there, etc. ruggy remains the shit — the whole shebang was incredibly organized and such a great time.
i’ll definitely be taking some friends on a clipper city cruise for our next special occasion post-​work happy hour.

This was my favorite event thus far Thanks Ruggy for putting this together! The weather was perfect for a boatride around the Hudson. The boat was a pretty intimate setting, that, combined with alcohol, made for a fun evening with Unilocalers.
The Clipper is a schooner, and it was cool to go on a booze cruise on a ship with a sail, as opposed to a typical tourist boat. The ship’s crew was super welcoming, and the bar tenders were super fast – both very important.
The two-​hour joy ride was finished way to quickly. The Clipper’s path allowed for many post-​card worthy photo opportunities. The lower-​Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island were all very close to the ship.
Such a great evening!

Having recently returned to NYC from Hawaii I am in serious water withdrawal. While I knew that I would not be able to get in the river, just being on a ship had me giddy!
The event was absolute perfection. We arrived early after eating at Luke’s Lobster, because no way I was going fishing in cowboy boots! Check in was a breeze.
The time on the ship was perfection. I wish I had spent more time meeting people but I was truly mesmerized by the view. My cousin and I are possessed by the spirits of tourist regularly and spent the entire time ooooing and ahhhhing! we also took enough pictures to make the actual tourists laugh at us.
The staff on Clipper was very engaging, and up for all of our questions.
Thanks Ruggy for allowing us to join in and Espolon for keeping my spirits high!

This was my first Unilocal Elite event and I have to say, it was a ton of fun. My girlfriend completely missed the boat, due to heading in the wrong direction, so I thought it would be super awkward not knowing anyone but everyone was super friendly and that’s including the staff on the boat, so I definitely had a great time throughout.
I’ve been on boats before but I feel like that was one of, if not the closest, I’ve ever been to the Statue of Liberty. I thought it was pretty cool, getting to see that we were just skirting by the restricted access buoys, going to show that we were getting as up close and personal with Lady Liberty, as we possibly could. The instructions to bring a jacket were super on point because it does get cool out at sea but thankfully Epsolon Tequila had our backs, to at least make us think we were getting warmer.
All in all, this was a great first event for me and all of you that I met were super dope. That especially includes Ruggy J for putting it together and Sarah for helping out. Awesome time with all of you! :)

What a relaxing sail around Manhattan! It was the best way to celebrated Cinco de Mayo! Margaritas, a beautiful view of the skyline at sunset and great company. I love meeting new Unilocalers at these events. That’s the beauty of it, right?! It’s about getting to know your community and having a wonderful time. I never get to do these types of things as a native New Yorker, so I really glad I got to sail and see New York with Unilocal!The captain was great, the sail was smooth (even with the threatening storm), and the drinks were delicious. Lucky for all of us, the sky decided to not open and we cruised through the warm air. Cheers, Ruggy!

No better way to spend Cinco De Mayo than sipping Tequila cocktails sponsored by Epsolon on a sailboat in NYC harbor.
The sails were hoisted at 7pm and we were off cruising across to Liberty Island. The cocktails were flowing, featuring a Pineapple Margherita and a Tequila punch. Crew were friendly and informative and nobody was forced to walk the plank!
We had excellent company throughout, featuring Ryan R. And Greg R. Nice chatting to Ruggy J. Thanks to you and Clipper City for this great event!