A good sunset party at anchor is mostly decided before anyone opens a bottle. The light goes quickly once the sun touches the horizon, and everything that is easy in daylight becomes awkward in the dark: finding a line, spotting a swimmer, bringing a lounge back aboard.
In the tropics, where many yachts spend the winter, dusk is short and darkness comes on fast, so the plan below starts in mid-afternoon and ends with the last bag stowed away.
Plan the hour before the light goes
Work backwards from sunset and give the recovery as much thought as the party. A simple running order keeps the crew and the host on the same page.
- Check the forecast and the anchorage early in the afternoon, and if the wind is due to rise at dusk, keep the party on board.
- Set up the floating lounge in calm, sheltered water, tied to strong points at the stern and well clear of the propellers.
- Swim first, while the light is good, and bring everyone out of the water before the drinks are served.
- Serve drinks from the main deck and send only unbreakable cups down to the water.
- Switch on the deck lights, and the underwater lights if the yacht has them, before dusk rather than after.
- Call everyone back aboard while there is still enough light to see the lines, then clear and recover the lounge.
Seating on the water
The Prestige Lounge is the natural centre for an evening like this. Its base is 410 x 355 cm, enough for loungers and a low table, and the optional tent gives shade in the late afternoon and the feeling of a room once the light drops. With the tent it travels in two bags, one for the platform and one for the tent, and together they make a heavy load, so set it up early rather than in a rush.
Add the Relax Corner for proper seating. Its curved shape of 160 x 65 cm makes a corner where guests can sit back and talk instead of perching on an edge, and it is easy to move into place once inflated. A Signature Sun Lounger of 160 x 75 cm fills a gap for anyone who would rather recline. The rest of the seating is on our air sofas and chairs page.
Drinks, glass and the swim platform
Keep the drinks on the main deck. Ice, bottles and anything made of glass stay aboard, and what goes down to the lounge is poured into unbreakable cups and carried by the crew. A broken glass on an inflatable deck is a hazard to bare feet and to the deck itself, and a bottle dropped over the side is gone for good. A low table or a tray on the lounge gives the cups somewhere to stand, so nothing is balanced on the soft surface or left to roll into the sea when someone shifts their weight.
Guests reach the lounge from the swim platform by stepping across, never by jumping from the deck above. Keep the route lit and the swim ladder clear, and make sure engines and thrusters are off for as long as anyone is on the lounge or in the water. If children are at the party, one sober adult has the job of watching them and nothing else.
Bringing everything in before dark
The party on the water ends while there is still light, not when the last drink is finished. Bring the guests back aboard first, then clear cups and cushions from the lounge, then untie it and bring it in. If there is no time to deflate everything, lift the smaller pieces onto the swim platform and leave the rinse for the morning; nothing should stay on the water unattended overnight.
The next morning, hose everything down with fresh water, dry it in the shade and pack it loosely. Our guide has more on tying a lounge to the stern so it lies steady through the evening.
