Tiki Boat Brings 'Beach Inside the Beltway' to the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers

Whitlow's on Wilson in Clarendon, Virginia, was once known for late-night dance parties and Bloody Mary brunches the morning after. Owner Jon Williams was forced to close the bar during the pandemic in 2021, and he later opened a new location in Shaw, on U Street NW, in 2023. Earlier this year, he helped keep the business going by launching a cruise line, Whitlow's on Water.

The boat's decor comes straight from the old Arlington rooftop. "A lot of the stuff that's hanging up and the decorations (on the boat) are from the rooftop in Arlington," Williams said, pointing to surfboards and cocktail signs. He said the idea came when two friends, both called Jack, suggested recreating the rooftop's tiki atmosphere on a boat.

Those two are Jack Maher and Jack Walten, drinking buddies turned business partners who have been friends since preschool in Arlington. In 2018 they cofounded Sea Suite Cruises as an offshoot of the Potomac Paddle Club, and have since added boats in other waterfront cities. Their fleet now numbers 17 boats docked in Annapolis and Baltimore in Maryland, Richmond in Virginia, and D.C., with Whitlow's on Water as its showpiece.

Maher said the concept began as a late-night brainstorm. "It was a drunk idea that we had," he said, adding that they emailed it to themselves just after midnight so they would not forget it. The company had just acquired a tiki boat as Whitlow's was closing, and the two, who were regulars there, wanted to carry on its spirit. Walten said they attended every mug night on the rooftop and had long called their boat "The Beach Inside the Beltway."

The vessel is docked in Georgetown on weekdays and at Navy Yard on weekends, and it cruises the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. It carries as many as 500 people a day, and the owners estimate it will have served 40,000 by the end of the year. It launched around St. Patrick's Day, timed for the cherry blossoms. Walten said bookings have since "exploded," with weekdays now filling up with corporate outings and birthday parties.

The boat also works as a floating sports bar, with televisions on board. Walten said it drew good crowds for the Masters, the NBA Finals and the NHL playoffs. For select Washington Nationals games, the company offers a "Nats Sail-gate," in which passengers tailgate on the way from Georgetown and are dropped off by the ballpark just before game time. Maher said the park is visible from the water, where you can hear "the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd."

Passengers also glide beneath the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, looking up at commuters stuck in traffic. "A lot of people don't view the city from the river, but it's a completely different perspective," Williams said, describing a relaxed atmosphere with reggae music and a bar on board.

The boat takes up to 47 passengers on individual tickets, or private groups of 25 or more. Guests can book an all-inclusive trip with alcohol included or pay as they go. The menu features tiki rum punch, orange crushes, High Noon vodka hard seltzers and Sea Suite Cruises Lager, brewed locally at Fair Winds Brewing Company in Lorton, Virginia.

Maher said the experience offers an outlet for people in a city of high-pressure jobs. "It's a low-cost way to get on a really nice boat that's not pretentious," he said. Walten summed up the company's aim: "We really strive to provide great brews with monumental views."