Each of the yachts seemed to have between 6-12 people plus a skipper. Haley, who works for TYW, was contacted about a week before the trip as there was an opening on one of the boats and luckily she asked if I wanted to join. Therefore, our "crew" was more of a melting pot than some of the other boats, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Our Crew:
Our family for the week consisted of 4 Americans, 2 Australians and Skippy Neil (from Scotland). While we were basically 3 separate groups brought together, we were incredibly lucky that we all got along relatively well, despite stark contrasts to our backgrounds.
Haley: From reading my blog, most of you know who Haley is. On our boat, she provided endless entertainment and coined multiple phrases in her Southern Accent that were used as inside jokes amongst our crew for the majority of the trip. The crew favorite being "it's so dirty and nasty". She was my partner in crime and I can't thank her enough for letting me join her on this adventure!
Kerry: Kerry is an NYC Firefighter and basically, besides Skippy Neil, the only one that seemed to have any sense of how to sail. Kerry and I bonded as we were pretty much the oldest people on TYW and thus sometimes had a different perspective on certain things. Similar to his job back home, Kerry continued to be a "hero" helping out whenever anyone needed any help, and it was much appreciated.
Jason: Currently serving in the U.S. Army and living in El Paso, Texas. There's so much that I could say about him, but I think to summarize it, he love America more than anyone I've ever met. He's hilarious and even converted his name into a verb on the trip that spread like wildfire. "Getting Krugered" was a term that many of the other Yacht Weekers soon adopted. While he missed a lot of the sailing, he's one of the most genuine people I have met.
Sam & Julian: Sam and Julian were our Aussie friends and were incredibly amusing. They started off their European summer tour on Yacht Week with us, and it wouldn't have been the same without them. I now feel like I speak a bit of Australian. I'm also very impressed with their swimming skills! You don't learn how to do that the same in Ohio!
Skipper Neil: Or as I referred to him, Skippy. Skippy luckily did not kill us or tip the boat over, and for that I am incredibly grateful. He provided hours of entertainment, that is, of course, when he wasn't sleeping. And, as I'm sure was taught in the Skipper Academy, he assured us we were one of his favorite crews (obviously).
And of course - the typical family photos:
