It's Not a Bar Fight When it's on a Boat

*photo: property of www.theyoungandthehungry.com

What: Bar Fight
Where: The Frying Pan
Who: My roommates, myself, miscellaneous rowdy men

I find it remarkable that I have been in New York City for months and just recently saw my first bar fight; or rather I saw a ‘boat fight.’ On Saturday night I went to the Frying Pan as a send off for one of my roommates who is leaving for London.

Located on the Hudson, the Frying Pan, is a boat that is permanently docked and serves as a bar in the warmer months. There are two smaller side boats, the first of which has dancing down below at the base of the ship.

After having one drunken jock approach me, initiating a fight, on my walk through the dock to the ship I realized I had entered a rowdy location. I made my way over to the further side boat and found my friends seated around a large table.

Within ten minutes my attention turned to the party of thirty next to us. One man at the table next to us was shouting at a guy on the main boat, which could not have been more than three feet away. The guy on the main boat was urinating off the side of the main boat into the direction of the side boat. A shouting match ensued when the party next to us proceeded to take an innocent picture of themselves and the Pisser accused them of trying to snap a photo of his ‘piece.’ (Definition number 7 in the link)

One of the girls at the party turned out to be a quite a firecracker and started throwing bottles at the Pisser and one broke upon hitting him. The Pissers friends started shouting and in return the guys at the Party table decided to take action. Instead of walking twenty feet down the side boat to dock back onto the main boat they decided to take a scene straight out of a pirate movie. Five of the guys in the Party climbed up the railing of the side boat and jumped to the railing of the main boat and scaled up the side.

Moments later the Pisser was in a chokehold and one of his friends was being punched in the face. Fists were thrown and men were falling to the ground. At least ten people were taking part in this fight; the guys from the Party outnumbering the Pisser’s friends exponentially.

One female bartender tried to shout to stop the fight while her male counterpart continued serving drinks. Without adequate security at this location the fight was not broken up. Instead it continued with punches being thrown, men rolling on the floor, and violent words until the Pisser and his friends retreated.

Just when I thought I had witnessed a great fight, the girl who threw the bottle that smashed over the Pisser proceeded to go onto the main boat and retrieve the Pisser’s food which had been delivered and left untouched. Needless to say this girl is now my hero.

Goals Accomplished:
1) First New York Bar Fight
2) Not terribly uncomfortable...there were no bottles aimed at me
3) The firecracker girl taught me that you truly can have your cake and eat it too...and if you want to have a successful bar fight without any arrests, do it at a place like the Frying Pan where security is lacking