Each May, as uniformed sailors flood New York City like it’s 1945, a certain brand of Big Apple woman sets her sights on a specific target: a military man with a six-pack and zero attachments.
But this year, the unofficial heart of Fleet Week was not a docked warship.
It was a steamy, no-holds-barred singles party where women arrived solo and left with a first mate.
Hosted by Single and the City founder Amber Soletti, the ‘Fleet Week Mixer’ at The Dean near Times Square has become an annual ritual for those who like their men disciplined, deployed and briefly available.
‘I’ve been doing this party for eight years,’ Soletti said. ‘And every year, I go in with 150 women signed up and zero sailors. It’s a Hail Mary – and then, boom, they show up.’
If you’ve ever watched the Sex and the City episode featuring Carrie, Samantha and Co. flirting with sailors during Fleet Week, you get the idea.
In fact, Soletti was inspired by it.
‘When I moved to New York from Austin, I looked around for a Fleet Week party like that and realized there wasn’t one,’ she said. ‘So I made it.’
Each year, Fleet Week brings thousands of sailors to New York City – as well as a wave of women eager to meet them
The wildest party is a mixer hosted by the owner of social event company Single and the City
Seeing fireworks
Despite what some men in uniform said about their motivations (‘I’m just here to network’), they were definitely out to flirt, flex, and find someone to make out with while fireworks exploded over the Hudson River.
Soletti said one woman texted her the morning after the mixer to say she had a breakfast date with a sailor she met at the event – and had already booked a ticket to visit him in Washington, D.C.
But these whirlwind romances don’t come without risk.
According to Soletti, there’s one piece of Navy-issued gear more precious than a heart: the sailor’s white hat, or ‘cover.’
‘Apparently if they lose it, they can’t leave the ship again,’ she said.
‘Last year, women kept walking off with them after dancing. These poor guys were running through the streets of Manhattan trying to find their covers before curfew.
‘One guy told me, “I run fast, baby. No one’s taking my cover.”‘
One infamous party rule? Don’t lose your ‘cover’ (the sailors’ white hats), which are essential for re-boarding the ships
Women flew in from across the country for the chance to dance, flirt and maybe more
A few beers and free shots
Jacob Hodson, a clean-shaven 27-year-old Navy officer stationed in Groton, Connecticut (who could pass for Miles Teller’s Top Gun body double), told the Daily Mail he was ‘100 percent’ ready to flirt – after a few beers, of course.
His goal? ‘Lasting memories,’ he said diplomatically, before recounting how some Russian moms tried to pay him for a photo, but he insisted they take it for free as it was his ‘public service’.
Another sailor, 6-foot-8 Ejai Washington, said he loved the attention but hadn’t yet brought anyone back to his room.
‘You gotta reach a certain level for me to do that,’ he teased.
That didn’t stop one restaurant owner from pulling him and his friends aside in Times Square and offering them free tequila shots.
‘We’re not gonna turn down free shots,’ Washington said with a grin.
Hookups are common, but so are week-long flings and post-party travel plans
Grace Potter (left) flew in from Houston with a dream: meet sexy sailors and ‘flirt it up.’ Meanwhile, Marissa R. (right) said Fleet Week was ‘absolutely worth the hype’
Every year, women walk off with them as keepsakes, sparking frantic chases by sailors through Manhattan
‘Flirt Week’ for the ladies
Grace Potter, 24, flew in from Houston with a dream: to meet sexy sailors and ‘flirt it up.’
‘They’ve exceeded expectations,’ she said. ‘They’re very welcoming, very flirty. A good time and a half.’
Potter had even watched the Sex and the City episode as prep work. Her verdict? ‘It’s absolutely worth the hype.’
Marissa R., a 23-year-old from Austin, took a more academic approach: ‘My goal is to talk to as many people as I can, find out as many national secrets as I can, and then obviously keep them to myself,’ she joked.
She was spotted wearing two sailor hats at once, but said she hadn’t kissed anyone ‘yet.’
‘But the night is young. Very young,’ she added.
Beatriz Borbon, 25, showed up to Fleet Week last year by accident – and returned this year on purpose. ‘It was unhinged and really fun,’ she said. ‘Watching guys who hadn’t seen civilization in ages re-enter society was wild.’
She’s kissed a few sailors and said ‘they’re eager,’ but admitted that she can’t tell the difference between Marines and sailors – and she doesn’t care to.
‘What’s the difference?’ she laughed. ‘They’re sweet, socially awkward nerds who mostly just want to dance with each other,’ she chuckled. ‘But the rogue Marine has game.’
‘I’ve been doing this party for eight years,’ said organizer Amber Soletti (left). ‘And every year, I go in with 150 women signed up and zero sailors. It’s a Hail Mary – and then, boom, they show up.’
Guests are given pickup lines to recite. If someone else has the same line, you take a shot together
Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, flirting with a navy sailor in an episode of Sex and the City
Breaking the ice
The party is structured chaos, thanks to Soletti’s matchmaking methods.
Guests are given salacious pickup lines to recite, including: ‘I’m like Domino’s. If I don’t come in 30 minutes, the next one’s free.’
If someone else has the same line, you take a shot together.
There was also a sidewalk push-up contest between two sailors egged on by the partygoers.
As Soletti noted: ‘It’s not about meeting The One. It’s about meeting… someone.’
And for some, the party marked a rebirth.
‘A woman came last year after a sexless marriage,’ Soletti recalled. ‘She brought someone home that night. She said it was like the movie How Stella Got Her Groove Back. She was glowing.’
Who is to say I can’t have a little bit of fun myself during Fleet Week?
It’s safe to say, I made my mark on Fleet Week – or at the very least, on the inside of someone’s cover
Sailing into the sunset
As the crowd spilled out of the venue around 11:30pm, the sailors hats were in jeopardy.
‘Someone actually told me, “Hey, that guy really needs that back. He’ll get in huge trouble,”‘ Soletti said. ‘I told them, “Don’t worry. I’m not keeping it. This isn’t my trophy.”‘
For now, the covers have survived, the hookups have commenced, and Fleet Week has once again delivered on its legacy as America’s most chaotic, consensual mating ritual.
But not all the sailors are looking for one-night stands.
‘They usually hook up with one girl and stick with her,’ one said of his shipmates. ‘So at least they’re loyal for the week.’
To the two married Marines who spun me around the dance floor and then asked me not to write about it – don’t worry, your secret’s safe… with everyone who reads this.
What happens on shore doesn’t always stay on shore. Sometimes, it ends up in DailyMail.com.
