Greece Yacht week

The Yacht Week's famous circle raft party. Image courtesy of Julian Fulton-Boote

I had my first experience with The Yacht Week Croatia, and it was in a word, amazing. The trailers for the event are immediately enthralling and make you want to book not now, but right now. A week at sea with friends, sun, parties, and sailing sounds sexy-and it is, but if you've never been it's hard to know what to expect.

I sailed the Black Route, Week 27 in Croatia, but The Yacht Week has a number of routes including the British Virgin Islands, Greece, Italy, and Thailand. Now that I'm back from my first experience (next year I'm doing Greece) I have some critical must-know information starting with the question I often get:

What to pack for The Yacht Week

• swimsuits - of course! I wore a different one every day
• mix and match tops and shorts (fellas, this is for you too)
• dresses - you're operating in a limited amount of space and the fewer articles you have, the easier your life will be. You don't need anything very dressy either. The entire experience is pretty casual.
• boat shoes - I personally don't like how boat shoes look on me, but I did buy a pair of Sperry ballet flats with the non-slip outsole and they worked fine. Even though you're barefoot most of the time on your boat, there are days when the boats are anchored close enough for you to walk across the decks to visit people, and that's when these come in handy the most
• flip flops - very crucial! You're in shared shower space the entire time
• bath gear - BYO body wash, wash cloth/loofah, and towel
• a light jacket - it gets chilly at night
• sunblock - black people get melanoma, too.
• small crossbody purse or wristlet - no one wants to deal with a full sized handbag at a party, but you also don't want to be the one who asks your crew to hold your phone (guilty)

Other considerations

• motion sickness remedies - I don't get seasick so this wasn't an issue for me, but being unprepared for the motion in the ocean is a quick way to ruin your experience.
• a costume for the regatta - you'll coordinate this with your crew
• jewelry and makeup are at your discretion - I personally didn't bring either one and didn't miss them, but that's just me
• floaties - these can be purchased in town before you head to the marina
• life vest - there was no way I was going on this trip and not getting in the water, but I also didn't spend all that money to go drown. All boats are equipped with the ugly orange safety vests, but I wanted to look cool, so I bought my own. Note, if you do decide to purchase your own life vest make sure you get a USCG-approved one, NOT a "comp vest" because they will not float you sufficiently.

It's safe to assume one swimsuit and one outfit per day, with the option of repeating shorts with different tops. I can't say it enough-a suitcase will be the bane of your existence in your cabin. You want a soft bag that can be folded up into the cubby holes. If you did happen to bring a suitcase for the sake of convenience while traveling, transfer the contents onto the boat and store the case at the marina, which is what I did.