bill roman edgartown yacht club

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On the Rise

From edgartown to five corners to menemsha, vineyarders are admitting that the waters around them have grown..

Bill Roman stood in his temporary office, gazing across the waterfront to a renovated Edgartown Yacht Club, whose walls and roof seemed to glisten with new shingles, even on this overcast spring day. Jutting 190 feet into the harbor, the venerable club had the look of vessel that had been spruced up and refitted for its next voyage – which, in effect, it had.

But something else was in Roman’s line of sight, something that served as a graphic reminder of the need for the $7.5 million project, which he has supervised as the club’s general manager. It was just past high tide and the harbor’s surging waters had lapped over portions of the waterfront and into the parking lot alongside the club, pooling three or four inches deep in places. 

He’s not exactly Noah nervously trying to finish the ark, but over the years Roman has nonetheless had to develop a keen interest in tide charts, storm forecasts, and sea levels. It so happens that he celebrates his thirtieth year as the club’s general manager this year, and rare is a season when harbor water hasn’t flooded the clubhouse. Not to mention the two hurricanes in 1991 (Bob and Grace) and another in 1998 that merited small plaques on the wall noting high water marks.

“We might get a foot of water a couple times a year,” he said. “A few inches of water? Not unusual for it to happen four, five times a year. Some years you get absolutely nothing, then the following year, twelve to fifteen times you get flooded.”

That hopefully won’t be the case this year. The renovation project, completed by the yacht club’s traditional Memorial Day commissioning, also lifted the deck of the clubhouse, its kitchen, and other facilities two feet higher above the harbor.

It’s a scenario that is playing out in various ways and places elsewhere on the Island as encroaching water has forced residents, businesses, and municipalities to scramble, usually confronting the same calculation: float it, raise it, or move it. At the Island’s margins – from the Gay Head Light at the western end to the Schifter family’s 8,300-square-foot house on Chappaquiddick’s southeastern corner – expensive projects have dragged large structures away from eroding coastlines in recent years. But now it seems the number of projects (or planned projects) has proliferated, perhaps as scientific projections of coastal flooding become graver, not rosier. 

Just down the harbor from the yacht club, the iconic, privately owned Vose boathouse had its deck raised another foot above the water. In the other direction, the town’s historic memorial wharf, alongside the Chappy Ferry landing, is targeted for a project that will reinforce its base and lift the structure by eighteen inches. Ultimately, the town may raise the entire parking lot alongside it.

At the Five Corners intersection in Vineyard Haven, perhaps the busiest and most prone to flooding on the Island, the Black Dog Bakery was closed during the winter for renovations that included raising its floor a foot. There’s talk of raising the town dock at Owen Park a foot or two as well. Meanwhile, up Beach Road, the developers of the old Hinckley’s lumber yard discussed building their project eight feet above the road with parking underneath. In fact, all of Beach Road is up for debate; the town and state are haggling about redoing the road and raising it to protect against flooding. It’s an ironic image of the future: the more than $41 million Lagoon Pond drawbridge, which was built several feet higher than the old one, is surrounded by road on either side that potentially will be under water. 

Similarly, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital sits on high ground, but its access roads will be seriously jeopardized by rising sea levels. (In other words, rest easy in the hospital – if you can get there.)

All along the waterfront in Oak Bluffs, sea level rise has impacted homes, businesses, and infrastructure. A portion of East Chop Drive already has been closed because of erosion, while the North Bluff, near the Lookout Tavern, got a new, higher seawall (with a popular pedestrian walkway on top). The permitting process is underway to enlarge and put a water gate in the Farm Pond culvert, mostly to improve water quality, but also to provide an outlet for storms and rising seas. The town is pushing the state for help on vulnerable roads, especially Seaview Avenue by Farm Pond and Beach Road by the hospital. 

Up-Island, Menemsha Harbor has attracted attention, especially since the town’s only gas station is alongside the harbor in a vulnerable spot. “Seems like the water is over the dock more this year than most,” said selectman Bill Rossi at a meeting this spring as selectmen sought help through state grants. “It used to be people would take pictures of it,” added chairman Jim Malkin. “Now they don’t bother anymore.”

Growing accustomed to seeing water over wharves and in the parking lots is one thing. Processing the level of coastal transformation and the dire economic and public safety consequences should projections of sea level rise for the coming decades prove accurate is something else altogether. The Vineyard’s economic base – tourism – could be decimated, business districts jeopardized, and electrical, sewer, water, and transportation systems compromised.

 “My personal feeling is people are overwhelmed. They don’t know what to do; they can’t grasp the impact so they just ignore it,” said Elizabeth Durkee, conservation agent for the town of Oak Bluffs and one of the best informed Island officials on the issue. She has been a longtime advocate for more leadership and planning, a sort of watery wake-up call to engage all Islanders. “If ever there was an issue we need to look at long term, this is it.” 

Even if one ignored all the warnings of climate change in recent decades, the fact of the matter is the sea’s advance should not come as a surprise. It’s been rising for thousands of years, but certainly at an increased rate over the last century. The evidence is right there in the historic mean tide charts from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for Woods Hole or Boston, an incremental rise each year, amounting to about a foot over the last century.

“For as long as we have any record of it, we have proof that there has been a gradual rise in sea level,” said Dr. Graham Giese, an oceanographer and scientist emeritus at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. 

For Giese, the present-day work on waterfronts is less about getting ahead of the rising tides to come and more about coastal communities catching up to the last fifty years of sea rise after realizing that twentieth century attempts to harden or manipulate the shoreline by moving sand around or armoring the coast with abutments and stone rip-rap ended up being temporary measures. It wasn’t always so. Before World War II, he explained, people who came to the region generally didn’t choose to live on the water. Look at Wellfleet, for example, where the main part of town is distant from the waterfront, or even in Provincetown, where houses tended to be built on the land side of the road, not the water side.

“It was never a good idea,” he said. “It wasn’t a good idea then. It isn’t a good idea now. People knew that.”

People, at least those looking to purchase real estate, apparently know it again. Earlier this year, data scientists from the nonprofit First Street Foundation and Columbia University released some troubling findings from a study of 2.5 million coastal properties in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine. Tidal flooding from sea level rise has eroded relative home values by more than $403 million during a twelve-year period ending in 2017. Massachusetts was hit hardest, with coastal homes losing $273 million in value over that period. Barnstable, on the Cape, was among the top five hardest hit towns, losing about $16.5 million. Two Island towns were also in the searchable database: Vineyard Haven, which it said has lost nearly $990,000 in home values, and Edgartown, about $651,000.

No question, said Giese, there is real reason to worry about accelerating sea level rise in the coming years. But referring to the NOAA charts, Giese said: “You should keep that in front of you and realize it’s nothing new.”

It’s certainly not new to Steve Ewing. He has worked in and on Island waters for fifty years, most of them through his own business, Aquamarine Dockbuilders, tending to almost all of the piers in Edgartown as well as many others around the Island. That includes the Edgartown Yacht Club, which he has helped maintain over the years, and where he acted as a consultant for the recent renovations. 

“I don’t think anyone has seen sea levels go down,” he said recently, in a typical piece of understatement. 

Just down the harbor from the yacht club is the Vose boathouse, an iconic wharf and building that has stood sentry for 120 years. This spring Ewing’s company and a few other contractors raised the boathouse’s deck a foot higher. It was an involved process that included shifting the entire building onto the beach’s edge while the pilings were replaced.

“It’s not rocket science – water’s coming up, you know?” said Ewing. “You don’t have to read a book or anything. You don’t have to listen to the news to see what’s going on.” 

For the man who has worked on the waterfront virtually his entire adult life, it all comes down to a calculation informed by his experience and data about sea levels. Ewing also happens to serve as Edgartown’s poet laureate and is the kind of person who pays attention to the details of nature around him. In particular, over the decades he has kept a watchful eye on where the barnacles choose to call home.

They will latch onto piers, pilings, and sea walls just under the mean water line, he explained, and they have been slowly, relentlessly moving up higher over the years. “I swear by it,” he said. “It’s right there in front of your face.

“I didn’t see ice caps melting, the friggin’ polar bears becoming extinct, and all that shit,” he said, laughing. “But I saw – just common sense – things had to be higher in exposed areas. I started with that, and as we rebuilt all the piers in the harbor, I watched where the barnacles were.…”

More than once he had to persuade customers to build higher than they wanted, but he’s glad he did. If he hadn’t, he said, “where they wanted me to build would be under water.” 

Throughout last fall, winter, and into the spring, the yacht club work attracted gawkers intrigued by the sights and sounds of demolition, pile-driving, and the grunts of a five-story crane wrestling giant steel pilings.

After a series of hydraulic lifts had jacked up the cavernous clubhouse (including its interior walls), work progressed below. Approximately 110 old wood pilings were replaced with forty steel “pipe” pilings, half of which are eighteen inches in diameter, the other half twelve-and-three-quarter inches. For each, a fifty-foot-long section was driven into the harbor bed, then another fifty-foot section was welded on top of it, and finally the whole thing was driven down to a so-called “point of refusal” – about seventy-five feet below the harbor bottom. Steel I-beams were laid on top of the pilings, length- and crosswise, to create the foundation of the new, improved Edgartown Yacht Club resting atop a slightly higher perch. Finally, the old dining room was dropped ever so gently back down on top of the higher deck. New, polished ipe (pronounced ee-pay) wooden floors were laid down, the old bar was reinstalled, and the silver service cabinet moved back into the building.

Truth be told, the place was due for a renovation, and the new building includes a new kitchen and office spaces. It would have been senseless, however, to upgrade in situ. “Okay, while we’re at it, we know there’s greater issues that we have to address too,” said Roman. “We knew we’re going to raise it. I’ve been here thirty years; it’s been flooding for thirty years. And what could we do to mitigate it?”

As it has in the past, the club will doubtless still have to weather massive storms and floods, such as the 1938 hurricane when the club was said to have water splashing against its roofline. Or the one in 1944, when the wind gauge broke at the Naval air station (now Martha’s Vineyard Airport) and the 116-foot yawl Manxman tore from its mooring, crashed into the dragger Priscilla V , and ended up wedged onto the finger piers between the Coal Wharf (present-day site of The Seafood Shanty restaurant) and Osborn’s Wharf (the yacht club’s location).

Among the most destructive storms was Carol in 1954, which, according to the club’s official history, saw two employees barely escape injury, working in knee-deep water when the windows came crashing in and the doors were blown off. The club’s upright piano washed up on Lighthouse Beach, the old oak bar and blue deck chairs floated up Main Street.

But as for the future of inexorably rising seas, Roman is now guardedly optimistic. “We challenged the engineers here,” he said. “We’re going up two feet now. What happens if we want to go up another two feet fifty, sixty, seventy years from now? How does that work?”

In the case of the yacht club, the I-beams can be cut from the pilings and moved up.

The parking lot, however, may well be quite damp.

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The tender trap, less is more, if you had $3,950,000….

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Edgartown flooding: 'impressive, but far from the worst', edgartown yacht club was underwater and dock street was swamped, but harborfront flooding was no problem for locals in the first storm of 2014., louisa hufstader , neighbor.

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Getting the Most from the Off-Season

Published on September 28th, 2017 by Assoc Editor -->

A seasonal club is all too typically divided into a high-season and an off-season. While emphasis is placed on the glory of the high-season, it is the diligence and focus placed on the off-season that pays real dividends. Bill Roman, Edgartown Yacht Club, has advice on how to stay prepared.

I always joke that when we approach our high-season, a switch is flipped and we are sent into high gear, but, in reality, we press the GO button to initiate the comprehensive plan we developed during the off-season.

Many members might think that the off-season is a time for year-round employees to sit back and relax, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, the pace does not match that of high-season, but I struggle to keep my desk clear, even in the middle of winter. Below are some of the more important matters that should fill your off-season and keep you more than a little busy.

Calendar – As you approach the off-season, it is critical to set as many future calendar dates as possible. While programing is still fresh in the minds of committee chairs, work with them to set dates that will become the foundation of planning in the months ahead.

Assessing Equipment and Facilities – What has to be purchased, rebuilt, renovated, refurbished, painted or patched in the off-season? Talk to committee chairs and department heads about needs to ensure programing success in the next season. Start making your lists that will be vital to your budgeting process.

Budgeting – We are still busy and bustling in Edgartown, but the upcoming season is already on our minds. What initiatives and programing changes will require budget considerations? What capital projects will necessitate time and attention in the winter months? What projects can be completed in-house to keep maintenance personnel busy, challenged and, at the same time, save money? Budgeting monopolizes the greater portion of the start of our off-season and, done right, it should.

Maintain Engagement – It is natural for key committee chairs to disengage as new priorities creep back into their busy off-season lives. Take the extra effort to keep them engaged with their programs and planning that is underway. New committee chairs in particular need additional guidance and attention.

People, People, People – Probably the single most important job of the off-season. Your high-season will never approach any level of success without the right people in critical roles. No doubt, you will know before seasonal employees leave who is invited back and who is not. Establish commitments from department heads before they head south, or west or wherever. Be certain the other high performing employees within departments know they are wanted back.

Establish early commitment dates so you have ample time to fill vacancies. Recent restrictions with work visas have put quality employees in high demand. Seasonal businesses in particular have been hit hard by this change, demanding that department heads fill vacancies within their departments as early as possible. Waiting too long will inevitably put you behind and in a pinch for rounding out staff with the very best people as the high-season approaches.

Curriculum Review – During every off-season, review program curricula and update or adjust as necessary. New programs and significant changes in programming will require a significant allotment of time, so start this process early, allowing ample time for committee input and revisions.

Promote Your Events – Most clubs host regattas that attract sailors from within their region and often beyond. Promote your events early and often to be sure your regattas are on the racing calendars of as many sailors as possible.

Throughout the off-season, it is important to maintain the same sense of urgency that the high-season requires. Work and think well ahead – do all you can sooner rather than later. As fast as the high-season seems to fly by, so does the off-season. Programs will be starting before you know it, leaving you wondering where the time went!

A productive off-season will afford greater assurance that your high-season will run smoother, with less stress and with greater opportunity to celebrate your successes. So just press that GO button, smile and enjoy all that the thorough off-season planning provides.

Source: US Sailing Blog

Tags: Keeping it real , US Sailing

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Edo Potter of Edgartown wins 2011 Spirit of the Vineyard Award

At a warm, understated reception at the Edgartown Yacht Club on Thursday, December 1, a dedicated group of Islanders turned out for the presentation of this year’s Spirit of the Vineyard Award to Edo Potter of Chappaquiddick.

The tone of the gathering fit the honoree to a tee: warmth, humility, and dedication personify both Ms. Potter herself and her efforts that make the Island a better place to live, now and in the future.

Sponsored by Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, the annual award is given to a person whose work with local nonprofit organizations “…has made a difference to individuals and the community as a whole.” Of the 13 previous winners of the award, more than half attended Thursday’s event: Kerry Alley, Dorothy Bangs, Emily Bramhall, Polly Brown, Melinda Loberg, Ron Rappaport, Judy Williamson, and Denys and Marilyn Wortman.

After falling in love with the Island when she first got to know it during the 1930s, Ms. Potter has devoted much of her energy to conservation work — on Chappy, in Edgartown, and across Martha’s Vineyard. She helped start the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. She wrote the zoning bylaws that Edgartown adopted in the early 1970s. She has served on the boards of most conservation organizations on the Island and on several town boards in Edgartown. Starting in 1980, she served four terms as selectman, and she was instrumental in saving more than 500 acres in the town, including South Beach, the Waller Farm, and Katama Farm. She currently serves on the Edgartown Conservation Commission.

After welcoming the crowd at Thursday’s gathering, Ms. Brown, a Hospice volunteer, introduced three speakers —Tom Durawa, James Lengyel, and Nancy Hugger.

Mr. Durawa was a selectman during Ms. Potter’s time on the board. “We worked together for 12 years,” he said. “We had a good time and we accomplished a lot. Edo was not complicated. She was open-minded, thoughtful, and totally prepared. She was a good all-around selectman, but her passion was conservation.”

Instead of listing her “conservation accomplishments, I want to talk about her totality,” said Mr. Lengyel, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank. “Above all her decency: Edo is calm, polite, and fair. She is not spiteful, never vindictive. The worst she would say about someone was ‘He’s not my favorite person.'”

Ms. Hugger, who works with Ms. Potter on the Chappy Open Space Committee, first mentioned Ms. Potter’s passion for the land. “But it is tempered by morality,” she said. “She wants conservation, but she can handle loss. I’ve enjoyed working with someone of that character, and I admire her for it.

“I’ve learned so much from Edo’s passion, from her experience, her dedication. She is generous with her wisdom, and her strength. She had such courage when she was facing the lions. She taught me what it means to be a friend, and to love the land.”

Brief and to the point, the speakers allowed attendees plenty of time to socialize, have a drink, and sample a bountiful spread of hors d’oeuvres.

Finally, Ms. Potter took the microphone. In a typical deflection of attention from herself, she said: “Thank you, Polly Brown, for organizing this gathering for Hospice. Thank you, Bill Roman and the Edgartown Yacht Club, for inviting us here. Hospice is a unique organization whose volunteers selflessly help those in need. They exemplify the Spirit of the Vineyard and I am honored to be chosen to receive this award.

“Martha’s Vineyard is a remarkable place. So many people on this Island deserve this award; for conserving important places, for caring for those in need, for encouraging the arts. All their efforts make the Vineyard a very special place to live and work.

I am very grateful for this honor and humbled by it. It has been a wonderful experience to work for the town and the Island and I feel well rewarded for my efforts.

“Thank you all for coming tonight.”

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An interview with Elizabeth “Tot” Balay on Edgartown Yacht Club's 100th Annual Regatta

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Edgartown Yacht Club Renovations

Originally built in 1928, the Edgartown Yacht Club has become a celebrated landmark due to its sizable contributions to Edgartown’s maritime history and the community at large as well as its close proximity to the water. Unsurprisingly, its unique coastal location – on a wharf thirty-feet out on Edgartown Harbor – also has its downsides which became apparent during the notable hurricanes of 1938, 1944, 1954, and 1991. In recent years, however, the clubhouse has been experiencing periodic flooding in response to rising sea levels.

"Winter storms have definitely taken a toll. Literally dozens of times a year sometimes we’ve had flooding. The whole deck will be underwater." Club Manager, Bill Roman, shared with the Vineyard Gazette

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by EdgartownYachtClub (@edgartownyc) on Oct 30, 2018 at 7:00am PDT

After years of enduring frequent water damage, September 2018 marked the start of an important and historic renovation to the Edgartown Yacht Club which will raise the clubhouse two feet above the water. Unfortunately, flooding is still plausible with the threat of storms and continued climate change; however, it won’t flood as nearly as much as it does now, which was confirmed with the help of Dick Barbini of Schofield, Barbini and Hoehn .

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by EdgartownYachtClub (@edgartownyc) on Jan 7, 2019 at 5:51am PST

Wednesday, September 19th, Atlantic Marine Construction began with cutting around the perimeter of the clubhouse and lifting the existing structure with hydraulic jacks. The wharf’s current piles, wooden timbers soaked in creosote, were replaced with a series of new steel piles installed around the edges of the wharf into the bottom of the harbor to support a bed of steel planks. The new piles are made from rust-resistant epoxy-coated steel (which is much better for the environment) and the existing wooden piles were cut down rather than extracted to avoid disturbing the harbor floor. With the new floor installed, the walls and roof were lowered back down and now the Edgartown Yacht Club is two feet higher!

While preservation drove the main goal of the project, the club will also undergo a moderate expansion including a public viewing deck on the second floor of the entry building. And we are pleased to share that the building will be handicapped accessible.

The project is moving along well and on schedule for the re-opening during Memorial Day Weekend. We are looking forward to celebrating the re-birth of the Edgartown Yacht Club with the club members and the Edgartown community at large.

Below are images of the Edgartown Yacht Club before the construction as well as progress images. Look out for additional construction images on our under construction page in the upcoming months and watch the construction project LIVE on Edgartown Yacht Club’s webcam: Live Webcam .

Before Construction

During Construction

June 1, 2019

Edgartown Yacht Club’s New Club

May 1, 2011

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• Opti racing was spectacular, with 94 junior sailors competing over the weekend.
• Maria Thibodeau

Wild Weather, Skillful Sailors at Edgartown Regatta

Steve myrick.

• Monday, July 20, 2015 - 3:43pm

Over the 92 years that boats have approached the line in the Edgartown Yacht Club annual regatta, it’s hard to imagine a more competitive fleet than the sailors who filled Edgartown Harbor and Nantucket Sound with sails during the three-day event that ended Saturday.

The skippers faced the entire range of wind and sea conditions, which proved a good test of boat handling skills.

“Very blustery out of the north on Thursday, which meant challenging conditions for everyone,” said Bill Roman, manager of the host club. “Fast forward 24 hours, and it was really, really light. It gradually built over the course of the day. Saturday, some heavier wind, more of the prevailing offshore wind that we normally see. A great variety of sailing conditions and lots of racing. It was a home run.”

Competition was fierce in Club 420 junior sailing with 77 boats representing clubs across southeastern Massachusetts sailing 11 races around an outer harbor course. Rasmus Sayre and Mary Morano, top competitors on the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School sailing team, were overall winners, getting to the line first in five of the races.

“One of the neat things was seeing Mary and Raz, he representing the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club and she representing the Edgartown Yacht Club, but they sail together for the high school team,” Mr. Roman said. “They cleaned up, which was really nice to see.”

Max Eberstadt-Beattie and Ben Arquit from the Edgartown Yacht Club were a close second overall. Caroline Elliott and Annabelle Fischer of the Brent Cove Sailing Program in Newport were third.

The Opti racing was spectacular, with 94 junior sailors competing in age classes in courses set in the outer harbor and along the Chappaquiddick shoreline.

In the blue fleet, for sailors age 13–15, there were 34 boats competing for the trophy. Colman Schofield of the Wianno Yacht Club took top honors, winning three of the nine races scored.

Cooper Walsh was second, and Miles Wolff third overall, both from the Edgartown Yacht Club.

A total of 13 boats competed in the red division for 11–12-year-old sailors. Abigail Tindall, sailing for the Edgartown Yacht Club, dominated the nine-race series with four wins. Robert Champ, also of the home club, was second, and Deason Brown, representing the Falmouth Yacht Club, was third.

Six boats sailed in the white division for 10-year-olds, with Conrad Schofield of the Wianno Yacht Club in Osterville the overall winner, followed by Abby Wayne of the Falmouth Yacht Club second, and Jon Ciffolillo of the Beverly Yacht Club third.

In the green division for sailors under the age of 10, Charlie Case, representing the Edgartown Yacht Club, was tops among 39 competitors, winning four of the 11 races. William Anderson of the Falmouth Yacht Club was second, and Tristan Blair, also representing the home club, was third.

In the J/70 series, Roland Vandermeer in Verona was the overall winner with four wins out of the eight races sailed, representing the Edgartown Yacht Club. Mr. Vandermeer just edged out Alex Meleney of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, who was second in Truckin’.

A total of 27 boats made the Wianno Senior class very competitive. Joe Lotuff in Smoke emerged on top after two races, scoring a first and a second place finish. He represented the Wianno Yacht Club. Jack Hamilton of the Hyannis Yacht Club took second honors in Mad Jack, and John Fallon in Heritage, also from the Wianno Yacht Club, took third.

“We welcomed a nice sized fleet of Wianno Seniors from the Cape,” Mr. Roman said. “Some have been coming for several generations, sailing over and competing in the regatta. That’s always nice to see.”

Amusing, skippered by Paul Mitchell, was the best of six boats that competed in the Shields class, notching three first place finishes in the seven races scored.

In the Herreshoff 12 1/2 class, Don McLagen of Edgartown Yacht Club was best in Four at Play, recording four wins and three seconds in the seven races.

Rachel Keogh sailed Sandpaper to an overall victory in the Rhodes 19 class, winning three of the eight races scored over the three-day regatta.

Next week attention turns to big boat racing, with two days of Around-the-Buoys racing Thursday and Friday on Nantucket Sound, with the list of registered competitors at 35 boats and growing.

Saturday features the Round-the-Island race, with 67 boats signed up to circumnavigate a 60-mile course around Martha’s Vineyard.

“Good strong numbers,” Mr. Roman said. “Right up there with what we’ve seen in the past. Around-the-Buoy racings continues to build every year. Fingers and toes crossed, we’ll have spectacular sailing conditions for Saturday.”

View more photos from the Edgartown regatta.

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Restaurant-Yacht Chaika

Ratings and reviews, location and contact.

Pleasantly surprised, service is good so is the food. Great selection of Fusion food, a mixture of Italian, Japanese, European, Asian etc. A pleasantly nice dining experience, highly recommended, a must try!

Thank you for your feedback and invite you to have lunch or dinner again aboard the ship in an atmosphere of high standards of yacht hospitality.

everything was perfect - the food, the service, the desserts were the best, nice atmosphere and the location - magical

Best food, best view in Moscow. absolutely faultless from arrival to finish. Best risotto i had for many years absolutely perfectly cooked. The view on Ukrainian hotel and the white house by night is amazing

Had to wait for the food for 1.5 hours and then another 20 minutes for the check. Finally called for the manager and he offered... a 10% discount as a compensation. Simply pathetic! The food is mediocre at best. Not bad per se, but one... would expect something better considering the prices. There are many places to eat in area that are much better. Avoid this one at all costs. More

Hello, Alexander Your comment is extremely important for us, thank you a lot for it. We are terribly sorry for your time that you`ve spent waiting your order and we have already taken actions to improve quality of our service and it would be realy... More

Food is very expensive,very pretentious, doesn't worth that money. Portions are very small. We ordered ravioli and there were 4! Four raviolis! For almost 15 euros. Then we asked to bring us dessert menu but nothing, they didn't even bothered, so we payed and left... without dessert. Very poor service for that price. More

This is a very good restaurant. The food is really good, maybe the best in Moscow. The service is also good. The view from the restaurant is great. The prices are very high.

I often visit this restaurant and must say it’s one of the best in Moscow in terms of quality and service. Staff really try hard to make sure that you are happy and satisfied. Customer service is a huge problem in Moscow but Chaika sets... a great example for others in the industry! Food is delicious and the menu has lots of options for everyone! Atmosphere is great and view is beautiful on the embankment. Special thanks to German & Oleg! More

Thank you for your feedback! Again aboard the yacht restaurant "Chaika" in accordance with the high standards of yacht hospitality.

Highly recommended, great location in the city center of Moscow with a superb atmosphere. Too many menu choices, though all delicious!

Thx a lot for your review! We are looking forward to see you in our restaurants.

Visited this lovely restaurant with a friend of mine. It was relaxingly warm August evening - so the place on the river seemed like a good idea. We came quite early and the restaurant was not full. The hostesses kindly offered several places to sit... and we chose to sit on the sofas. We had some wine, which was good. We struggled a bit when deciding about the food as few options (scallops) were not available. Fish on ice on display did not look very fresh. To be honest it was an unusually hot August and it is probably understandable that some see food options were not available. However, we did manage to order something and sat waiting and looking onto the river. My long-legged friend struggled sitting at the low sofa and the manager noticed that, offering as a very good, proper table beside the open window. It was nice touch and I was very pleased by their polite observations and immediate reaction to solve the problem. Food was quite good and presentation was perfect. Perhaps I can something about the food, but 1 visit is not enough to criticize or make a definitive opinion. Overall, quality place, which of course, does not come cheap. I would recommend this restaurant without hesitation. More

Good afternoon! Thank you for your detailed feedback! We are looking forward to seeing you again, we are sure that you will be delighted with our dishes!

I've been here several times during two business trip in Moscow. The overall quality for both service and food is absolutely top-notch, plus the location is very unique.

Hello! Thank you for your feedback! We are looking forward to visiting again!

Located on a boat at Krasnopresenskaya River Bank this 5 Star Restaurant transforms into a party location due to multiple groups hosting events. Impressive wine selection, Asian and European kitchen...

Thx a lot! We are waiting for you!

It is a nice place to gather specially at the lounge The service and staff very good I like the river view The food is almost like all restaurants in Russia they serve different cuisine. Staring Russian appetizer till Asian dishes Presentation and taste amazing... I consider it overpriced little bit More

Good location. Nice views. Good choice of food and drinks. European and Asian menu. Nice service. Pricey enough.

Had a large group dinner here. Food was above average and service quite good. The real attraction is the view of Moscow from the river on a nice night. Great place for a larger group dinner. More

Hello, John We are really pleased by reading that you and your friends were satisfied by our service, client`s experience is the highest value for us. We will be happy to see you again, come and enjoy some new dishes from our chef and nice... More

The luxurious atmosphere of this place, the view and the location make it quite outstanding. We had dinner here with friends and the dishes were amazing, accompanied by a chilled bottle of Chablis, it really made me feel as if it was a part of... the classic Russian movie. More

RESTAURANT-YACHT CHAIKA, Moscow - Presnensky - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor

• Service: 4.5
• Atmosphere: 4.5