Taking YoHo in a New Direction
By Scott Maxey, Spring 2007
This past fall, California Epsilon decided to take the plunge into unchartered waters for its quarterly party, literally. The active brotherhood voted on renting a yacht, fully equipped with a buffet style dinner, live DJ, and a bar, and allowing each brother to attend with the damsel of his choosing for a three hour tour of Marina Del Rey. The theme, fittingly, was Pirates of the Caribbean.
As Thursday night approached, the gentlemen of Phi Kappa Psi and their respective dates gathered what costume items they could muster to make the date party truly something special. In true Cal Ep fashion, the brothers were coated in more makeup than Joan Rivers, which inevitably made for some entertaining photos (a ban on cameras for all future events was brought to a vote the following chapter). Despite the inevitable confusion between brothers and their respective dates, the night began well as more and more couples climbed the red steps of 613 Gayley. And to the joy of the hundreds gathered at Phi Psi, and to the candid surprise of the sweating social chairs, the busses arrived only a few minutes behind schedule and the night began sharply around 8:00.
The bus ride to Marina Del Rey, filled with the sharp and united cries of ladies singing their favorite Phi Psi tunes, was as tumultuous as the taverns in which actual pirates frequented; everyone was excited for the night to get underway. Upon arriving at their final destination, the sailors and their mates for the evening boarded the boat and prepared themselves for a memorable night.
The yacht, an extravagant, three story vessel provided courtesy of Hornblower Cruises and Events, was everything the social chairs had made it out to be. Once on board, people disbursed into their respective groups as the Captain announced the rules for the night. After issuing a safety warning to the anxious, half-listening crowd, the ship pulled its anchor and embarked on its aquatic tour. Dinner, which consisted of two types of pasta, salad, bread and other assorted snack foods, was served first, and with the exception of a few famished sailors, nearly everyone was up and dancing on the main deck within an half hour of boarding the yacht. The music and dancing combined to make a great atmosphere, and as the night carried on, the dance floor became more and more packed. But by the time the boat had began its return to the dock, many pairs decided they had danced enough and made their way to the top deck, where they enjoyed a few drinks and the glowing lights of West L.A.
When the yacht came into the harbor, the couples, some in better shape from their sea travels than oth-ers, exited the boat and found seats for the journey back to UCLA. The return trip home was much more subdued than the approach to the harbor, with many tired and distracted couples opting to forego verbal communication in favor of alternative methods on the way home. And although the end of the event may have become shrouded in fog for some of the broth-ers, there is always the hope that their dates will re-member the night they partied like a real pirate of Phi Kappa Psi.
