Story highlights
Sailboat runs aground near the Statue of Liberty
121 passengers and nine crew members were aboard
It took an hour and a half to get passengers back on land
A beer-tasting cruise around New York’s Lower Manhattan fizzled Saturday when the tour company’s sailboat ran aground near the Statue of Liberty.
None of the 121 passengers and nine crew members suffered injuries, CNN affiliate WABC reported, but it took about an hour and a half for the Coast Guard, fire department, police and the National Park Service to get the passengers back to land.
“He got stuck on the reef, and then all of a sudden the boat stopped and nothing was happening,” passenger Brandy Hamm told WABC. “Then the police came and got us and took us back to shore and it was fine.”
The “Craft Beer Tasting Sail” takes place aboard the Clipper City, a replica of a 19th-century schooner operated by Manhattan By Sail. Passengers are promised magnificent views of the New York skyline while sampling locally brewed beers. Tickets for the one-hour, 45-minute cruise cost $65.
The boat was booked for a wedding Saturday night, but the event had to be canceled after the incident.
Wedding guest Jenny Fiechter told WABC the bride would be especially disappointed: “This was the thing she was most excited about.”
A representative of the tour company could not be reached for comment late Saturday.