Climb Aboard the Nantucket Lightship at Brooklyn’s Pier 6

All aboard the Nantucket Lightship, the beautifully restored luxury yacht with a unique past. The Nantucket Lightship sits at Brooklyn Bridge Park‘s Pier 6 and serves as an event space, charter yacht, and vacation rental. Although this ship now serves to entertain, it was originally a floating lighthouse that purpose was to protect those at sea. This particular lightship was on duty from 1950 to 1985. In 2000, the former Senator of Massachusetts Bill Golden and wife Kristen, bought and restored the ship, giving it a second life in the entertainment and hospitality business.

For over a hundred years, lightships served a crucial role in helping boats avoid shipwrecks. The Nantucket Lightship docked at Pier 6 comes from a series of Nantucket Lightships. The boat is named in honor of the Nantucket South Shoals Lightship Station, the first lightship station established by Congress in 1854. The lightship and station both get their names from the the Nantucket Shoals, one of the most dangerous oceanic regions in the North Atlantic. Lightships also played a somewhat significant yet unknown part in New York history as well. From 1854  to 1985, the beacons of light produced by the Nantucket Lightship was one of the first sights immigrants who came to Ellis Island saw. The Nantucket Lightship is nicknamed “The Beacon of Hope,” because of this reason.

Aside from its incredible past, the Nantucket Lightship has a stunning interior that should not go unnoticed and we’ve got a sneak peek here. There are exotic hardwood floors, six bedrooms (including an originally restored servant’s quarters) a library, dining, room, and a lower deck entertainment room, among other luxuries.

Check out how to see the boat on the Nantucket Lightship website.

Next, check out The Top 10 Abandoned and Retired Boats in NYC (and one in New Jersey) and 10 of NYC Floating Bars and Barges to Check Out This Summer. Get in touch with the author @themaximalistny