This summer, exercise your sea legs.
Through sailboat charters and houseboats, you can stay at a bed-and-breakfast that’s not just near the water, but on the water.
Missy Mellor, who recently launched her sailboat charter company Little Dutch, out of East Hampton, dubs the trend “aqua camping.”
“My boat’s beautiful, it’s very comfortable, but it’s not one of these yachts with four-crew members,” said Mellor. “It’s asking people to be involved in their vacation a little bit.”
Little Dutch joins a growing community of these floating bed and breakfasts on the Eastern seaboard.
“I think sailing charters are becoming big,” said Susan Brooks Stephenson, who’s going into her seventh season operating her companies A Bed and Breakfast Afloat, and Sea Witch Sailing Charters, out of Martha’s Vineyard. “It’s like your own personal cruise ship.”
If you’re looking to stay on the sea, here’s what’s available in nearby waters:
LONG ISLAND SOUND
Little Dutch Sailing Charters Littledutchsailing.com
Captain Missy Mellor, a certified U.S. Coast Guard captain and trans-Atlantic sailor, founded this floating bed-and-breakfast this year. Learn how to sail, or just relax on the deck, on a weekend charter. If you want to stretch your sea legs, guests can be brought ashore in a dinghy to visit beaches, restaurants and shops.
Serving: The Hamptons, North Fork and Shelter Island
Stays: Weekend or weeklong (half-day, full-day and sunset sails also available)
Boat: Whitby 42 sailboat
Accommodates: Up to four
Potential sights: Coecles Harbor in Shelter Island, Fishers Island in Long Island Sound, and Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton; longer tips to Block Island, Rhode Island, and Cuttyhunk and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, can also be arranged.
Season: May through mid-October
Rates: $1,250 per person for weekend charters (includes meals)
MARTHA’S VINEYARD
A Bed and Breakfast Afloat Abedandbreakfastafloat.com
Get the sailboat experience without braving the waters with this floating bed and breakfast. The boat stays docked in a marina, so you can come and go as you please, exploring downtown Oak Bluffs or watching the sunset from the deck.
Serving: Martha’s Vineyard
Stays: Two-seven nights
Boat: 40-ft. Island Cutter Sailboat
Accommodates: Up to four
Potential sights: Explore Martha’s Vineyard while docked at the Oak Bluffs Marina.
Season: June through October
Rates: Starting at $275 per night for two, $350 per night for four (two-night minimum stay, three during holiday weekends)
Sea Witch Sailing Charters Seawitchsailingcharters.com
Book your own personal cruise ship with this sailing charter, run by the same people behind A Bed and Breakfast Afloat. During the summer, you can find it in and around Martha’s Vineyard.
Serving: Falmouth Heights, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard
Stays: Weekend or weeklong (two-, four-, 8-hour, sunset, lunch and dinner cruises also available)
Boat: 58-ft. LOA Pearson Ketch Cutter
Accommodates: Up to four
Potential sights: Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands, Cutty Hunk and Hyannis/Chatham Cape Cod
Season: Mid-June through mid-September
Rates: $7,950 for two, $9,950 for four for seven nights
Outer Cape Sailing Outercapesailing.com
Explore Nantucket Sound with a licensed captain with the 10-year-old Outer Cape Sailing. If you’re itching to learn yourself, the company also offers lessons.
Serving: Nantucket Sound
Stays: Overnight (with a licensed captain)
Boat: 27-ft. Catalina-New Bedford, 35-ft. Catalina 350-Cataumet
Accommodates: Up to four on Catalina 27; up to six on Catalina 35
Potential sights: Buzzard’s Bay, Nantucket Sound, to Martha’s Vineyard/Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands
Season: June 15 through Labor Day
Rates: $900 for two-night charter on Catalina 27; $1,260 for two-night charter on Catalina 35
BOSTON
Golden Slipper Bnbafloat.com
A pioneer of “aqua camping,” this floating bed and breakfast is docked in Lewis Wharf, so you can come and go as you please, as well as explore Boston Harbor during a day or sunset cruise.
Serving: Boston Harbor
Stays: Overnight to weekly
Boat: 40-ft. Catalina Chris Craft
Accommodates: Up to six nightly, five weekly
Potential sights: Boston Harbor islands
Season: May to October 31
Rates: Starting at $225 a night
FINGER LAKES
Finger Lakes Water Adventures Fingerlakeswateradventures.com
Explore the Erie Canal from a luxurious houseboat. Many come equipped with a full kitchen, bar, outdoor grill, patio or even hot tub, so you can spend the week exploring the Finger Lakes or stay docked lakeside and check out local attractions, such as the Finger Lakes Wine Trail.
Serving: Seneca Lake
Stays: Weekly
Boat: Houseboat
Accommodates: Up to 10
Potential sights: Seneca Falls, Cayuga Lake, Clyde, Fairport, Lyons
Season: June to mid-October
Rates: $4,450
