Midnight on the water. Thirty-eight guests, no more.

On New Year’s Eve the whole city looks toward the river — and a fortunate few look back at it. Elizabeth Anne spends the night on the water across two ticketed sailings: canapés and drinks roaming the saloon and decks, the skyline arranging itself for midnight, and the fireworks directly overhead rather than somewhere beyond a crowd.

Tickets are sold individually — a family cruise for the early fireworks, a midnight cruise for the main display — and she takes 38 guests at most on each. That arithmetic is the entire proposition.