No, it is not possible to use the Visa Waiver program and ESTA for entering the
USA on a private vessel. You, and any non-Americans that aren't LPR (green card/landed permanent residents) will need at least a tourist visa.
One "cheat" is to fly into the USA then keep the I-92 form when departing and then immediately sailing back into the USA; this works in the USVI (fly into St. Thomas, take the
ferry to the
BVI, then clear out of the
BVI for the USVI on a sailboat); but this won't
work for entering the US mainland or, from what I've heard,
Puerto Rico.