DM -- These charming boats may look like part of a traditional – and perhaps slightly old-fashioned – fishing community. But in fact it is an innovative new project in the heart of New York City – and in the shadow of the bustling John F. Kennedy airport. The Marina 59 ‘Boatel’ offers city-dwellers a chance to get away from the urban bustle and muck in with a group of artists who have created a new type of hotel. The hotel is made up of 16 boats, each sleeping between two and five people, docked at a marina in the Far Rockaway area of Queens. The boats which provide the Boatel’s accommodation have all been renovated by teams of artists, in an attempt to make them as much an aesthetic experience as a chill-out zone. In a letter sent to guests after the Boatel opened last year, its creators emphasised that the hotel was intended to be more than just a floating vacation destination. ‘We are not a real hotel,’ they wrote. ‘This is an adventure at best and an art project at worst.’

Everything about my life up to this point tells me I should loathe these people. Comments like “we’re an adventure at best and an art project at worst” lead me to know that as people, they’re not worth the crustaceans growing on the stern. But you know what? I like them. Not to sound cliche, but I like the cut of their jib. Maybe it’s something about the water that makes people harder to hate but I wanna fire up a few Dark and Stromy’s with these folks and sing Margartaville all day. Throw the boater’s wave at everyone as we float around the harbor spinning the blender like you read about. Goddamn right the Boatel is a good chance to get away from the urban bustle and muck! Where do I sign up? Wouldn’t mind getting the ladies nice and tipsy topside so I can take them to a nice, comfortable place below deck and, ya know, they can’t refuse. Because of the implication.