Gliding through the Fjord-like scenery of the UNESCO protected Boka Bay, flanked by high reaching cypress trees, limestone mountains and waterfront villages, it is no surprise that “boka” is the Italian translation of “mouth”. Beyond the bay, lies the opening to the Adriatic Sea and nestled inside is Porto Montenegro, the former Communist-era naval base turned luxury marina village. Three customised luxury Sunreef catamarans lie moored to Dock One signalling that the fifth annual Sunreef Rendezvous is underway.
Held to mark the new partnership between the Polish yard and the luxury resort, Sunreef’s first Montenegro Rendezvous took place from May 30 – June 1. It was a break from tradition for the yard, which has previously held all four editions of its Rendezvous in its native Poland. But, as Sunreef PR & Marketing director Karolina Paszkiewicz explains, the time was ripe to “shake up” the event.
The weekend kicked off with a sunset gathering on board three Sunreef catamarans, with guests yacht-hopping from the 18.3 metre Sunreef 60 Gyrfalcon, to the Sunreef Supreme 68 Dreamliner II and finally to the 24.4 metre Sunreef 80 7X, which made its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival last year.
Gyrfalcon was the true party boat of the evening, with guests keen to taste the Bulgarian Rosé produced by chef Nikolay Dalakov, who assembled picture perfect canapés from the yacht's “performance galley”.
The Rendezvous resumed early the next morning with guests assembling on board Gyrfalcon for a cruise down Boka Bay, past the picturesque 17th century islands of Our Lady of the Rocks to the ancient salt trading city of Kotor.
Here, guests disembarked for a whistle stop tour of the cobble stone streets and city squares that make up the preserved old town before re-joining Gyrfalcon for a leisurely cruise back to Porto Montenegro.
As the catamaran wound its way back through the bay, showman chef Nikolay delivered a five-course lunch of snow crab, tuna tartar, tiger prawn and shrimp risotto, black risotto with scallops and finally blackberry tart with edible rose petals procured by Nikolay himself.
The Rendezvous concluded that evening with a glitzy Great Gatsby themed party at the Porto Montenegro Yacht Club where guests enjoyed a three course meal, shisha pipes and overflowing champagne. Finally, guests danced beneath bursting confetti canons framed by club’s Instagrammable infinity pool.