NEWPORT YACHT RENDEZVOUS
The gala raised more than $250,000 for the Boys & girls club of newport county.
The annual yacht rendezvous and dinner to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County in Rhode Island raised in excess of $250,000. The event, held at Newport Shipyard on August 11, included seven yachts ranging in length from 48 feet to 115 feet. Guests sipped cocktails and sampled hors d’oeuvres aboard the yachts before retiring to a seated dinner under a dockside tent decorated with market lights. The organizers showed a video from Boys & Girls Club members, and the Fat City Band provided musical entertainment. Russell Morin Catering & Events provided a multicourse dinner. Live and silent auctions, along with a special request in support of the club’s playground and recreation programs, rounded out the evening. Deacon John Silvia was the auctioneer. Eli and Lauren Dana (event chairs), BGC board members and Kristin Reed (board president) lead the efforts.
Event sponsors included Newport Shipyard and Yachts international/ AIM Marine Group, PEAK Event Services, Paolino Properties, Newport Hospital, Cox Communications and The newport Daily news. Also providing services and assistance were Exquisite Events, Jennifer Saia of B&B Yacht Charters, Veronica Brown of Newport Shipyard and Sue Gearan from Carol Kent Yacht Charters, who helped secure participating yachts. Other vendors included C&S Portable Restrooms, The Cocktail Guru, Exquisite Events Details & Décor, John Orton Flowers and Events, Katlem Design, Keel Vodka, Landscapes to Go, Harpoon Brewery/Harpoon Helps, Newport Tent Company, NLM Photo, PEAK Rental Services, The Valet Connection, Sayles Livingston Design, Off the Vine and Castle Brands. bgcnewport.org
So you bought a boat. Well done. You’re now a card-carrying member of a distinguished club of like-minded individuals who share a passion for two things: enjoyment of life on the water, and throwing their hard-earned money into an enormous new hole in it.
Now what? Hopefully, you’ll drop the lines and get on the water as often as you can. Maybe you’ll plug in to a new social scene and join a yacht club or a local cruising club. Or maybe you’re one of the more fortunate new yacht owners whose brokerage arranges regular opportunities where you can do all of the above.
This summer, Denison Yachting’s 6th Annual Bimini Rendezvous was a fun-filled, sun-filled retreat for yacht owners and families, as a flotilla of 16 boats carrying more than 80 guests cruised to Resorts World Bimini for a weekend of festivities. Highlights included a Bahamian Junkanoo celebration; a day cruise to the Sapona shipwreck and Honeymoon Harbour; a beach barbecue with Olympic-style games; a fishing tournament; a seafood cooking demonstration and tasting by local celebrity chef Chad Thilborger; and a seafood festival and awards dinner with locally caught fare.
Costumes and karaoke ruled the night at a “Rock of Ages” party with prizes for best costume, best rock attitude and best performance. In the fishing tournament,
Nauti But Nice won for biggest catch, while Tango took most fish caught. The most coveted prize of the weekend, the top cruiser award, was a tie between Someday Came and 5 O’Clock Somewhere.
“Rendezvous are great opportunities for us to connect with our clients away from the blitz of a boat show or open house,” said Bob Denison, president of Denison Yachting. “Bringing people together—on their boats, on our boats, in and out of the water—it’s one of the things I really love about boating. Bimini is a great place for this to happen. Lots of blue water. Lots of marine life. Lots of great places to escape to. But more importantly, this event emphasized to all of us that having fun in beautiful places and with wonderful people is truly what makes boating so enjoyable.”
Yachts International was the media partner of this year’s rendezvous. Sponsors included All Oceans Closings, Beneteau, Boatyard, GJ Aragon Financial, Gregory Poole, Hatteras Yachts, IberiaBank, Mount Gay Rum, Newcoast Financial Services, Rémy Cointreau, Resorts World Bimini, Seabob, Stock Island Marina, Tropic Ocean Airways and Westrec Marinas.