Day 1: Check-in and Welcome Party in Portarosa

Only three months ago I was stepping off the boat from The Skipper Academy to discover that I had become a Yacht Week skipper.  It would be my first time with The Yacht Week and I would already be skippering their first event in Sicily, Italy.   Bags packed and Italy bound, as soon as I left the door of my house I realized I had forgotten one thing that would stay with me throughout this crazy journey... my Scottie Hampton sunglasses. 

It was the first day of the first ever TYW Italy route and once again several eager sailors began to arrive by bus from Catania airport. The skeleton crew on the event staff worked tirelessly to get everybody’s paperwork done and acquaint crews with their skippers as they waited for their boats to be ready. In the down time throughout the afternoon crews had their first opportunity to mingle and get to know the other crews they would spend the week with while enjoying drinks provided by Skyy Vodka and tunes provided by TYW event staff.

It was very clear crews were eager to party but we didn’t want the hype of day 1 to burn anybody out. Nonetheless we had a huge turnout at a pool party that we hosted at a nearby club. Skyy Vodka again provided drinks and TYW DJ, Anna X, provided the tunes. Once the party was over crews had the option to continue the first night celebrations later into the evening at a nearby nightclub that carried on well into the late hours of the morning.

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