The City of Hamilton was keen to get on board as a major event sponsor for the Tall Ships Bermuda Host Port festival — after all, the event is bringing some 19 international tall ships with 900 sail trainees and crew, thousands of locals and visitors to Front Street. Fortunately for Tall Ships Bermuda, we also got the city’s star Event Project Manager to assist us — Danilee Trott is chair of the crew hospitality committee — a mammoth task that involves overseeing all of the hospitality and entertainment requirements for our sail trainees, crew, captains, visitors and general public.

Whilst this might all seem like a daunting challenge to most persons, Danilee, who has a ton of experience under her belt, takes it all in stride. Confident, enthusiastic, competent, talented and tireless, Danilee is used to managing large events — she is the executive producer of the Bermuda Fashion Festival that the city hosts in the summer; she has her own event company, Savvy Entertainment and, after all, this is not her first tall ships event. Danilee played a key role for the City of Hamilton and Tall Ships Bermuda during the planning and hosting of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 — a tall ships race that was organised to celebrate Bermuda’s 400th Anniversary. Her efforts and those of the 2009 Host Port Committee saw Bermuda win the Best Port award that year from race organisers, Sail Training International. “This is something we are hoping to win again this year!” Danilee enthused.

In preparing to once again put Bermuda on the international tall ships map, Danilee is quick to credit the combined assistance of her 2017 crew hospitality team: Tamara Bradshaw, Janee Pitt, Zoe Mulholland, Ed Christopher, Thomas Lightbourne, Eugene Dean, Nicole Warren, Rachel Bailey, David Joll, Michelle Joll, Julie Preece, Lizzie Gibbons, Nicole Bean, Stacey-Lee Williams, Genelle John and Peter Frith. Team member, Kristin White of Hub 1 in St. George’s has organised the St. George’s Welcome Festival, May 26 — 30, as the town will be the first port of call for the tall ships on their arrival in Bermuda. Kristen has also organised the Official Tall Ships Welcome to Bermuda Sunset Festival at Penno’s Wharf on the evening of Wednesday May 31 before the tall ships and festivities move to the City of Hamilton.

In addition to the events that include the public, sail trainees and crew can look forward to dinner specials and pub crawls at participating St. Georges restaurants and bars; street festival entertainment in St. George’s and Hamilton, Beach and Cultural days, a sports day on Darrell’s Island, the Collie Buddz concert, a crew parade through the streets of Hamilton culminating in a prize giving and party in Victoria Park, and a host of special deals being offered by local merchants.

“We aim to ensure that the sail trainees and crew have an enjoyable experience while in Bermuda and that they have an opportunity to participate in activities involving locals, our traditions and cultures,” says Danilee. “We give a lot of consideration to the trainees and crew that we will be catering to. We think about their ages, their interests, their diversity and the technical requirements of each event. When planning for things that they might enjoy, we consider how tired they will be and other aspects of their circumstances as well.” The team then collates this information with what unique opportunities Bermuda has to offer, the available resources and venues and then creates and executes a schedule that is appropriate and successful.

When asked how she manages to do it all so well, Danilee responds, “Event management is not as easy as most people think. From the outside looking in, you only see the finished product — not the time and careful consideration that goes into the decision making, the painstaking efforts that are put into logistics, or the finishing touches that are needed in the details. I am very passionate about what I do, but to summarise how, I would say, careful planning, time management, bringing the right team together, consideration to details, vigilant organisation, and loving what I do!”