Beach Magazine, MEMORIAL DAY, JUNE 2015

Realtor Jessica Cohen is bringing bespoke boating experience to the Hamptons with True East Charters.

By Mike Espindle

What prompts a Brooklyn-born star realtor to become an avid boater? For Douglas Elliman broker Jessica Cohen, who launched day charter operation True East Charters in the Hamptons this season, it was a sheer happenstance. “I just wanted to get in an easy, fun day on the water with my brood,” she says. I found it nearly impossible. I started with the idea of renting some ocean kayaks and impulsively came home as the owner of a 23-foot Scout Dorado.”

Impulsive, yes, but Cohen soon caught the boating bug, logging 124 hours aboard her craft exploring the waters of the East End that summer of 2013. “So many people come out to the Hamptons and most of them just don’t get on the water,” says Cohen. “From Sunset Beach to arriving at clubs and restaurants dockside, it’s such a perfect way to experience the area.”

Again, by watery happenstance, Cohen met seasoned local skipper Mike Tierney, who offered to give her additional boating lessons. Together, they recognized the need to offer a quick and easy yet curated way to get folks off the beach and onto the waves. A spanking-new 41-foot Azimut vessel—equipped with three 300-horsepower Mercury outboard motors that can pony the boat, named Veritas, up to 55 knots—provides the perfect craft for True East’s menu of waterboard adventures. “It’s like a fine Mercedez Benz,” Cohen adds. “Fit, finish, design, capabilities—it’s the best craft for the waters here.”

True East has developed a menu of creative options, from a raft of sunset cruises to paddleboard-based yoga classes to even a kind of “floating drive-in movie” outing, but Cohen already has bookings for many custom, fully catered day expeditions for 10 to 12 passengers this summer (and the Veritas can berth fewer people overnight for longer voyages to Newport or Block Island).

Source: http://modernluxury.com/Beach