18 March, 2024
Varadero Valencia celebrated the start of the Fallas festival with various activities for its customers and partners to showcase Valencian culture, cuisine and traditions to captains of yachts being repaired at the yard, as most of them aren't residents and come from all over Europe.
The yard invited an exclusive group of customers to watch one of the first 'mascletás' (a barrage of fireworks and firecrackers) from the balcony of a hotel in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, right in the heart of the city. And at 2 o'clock on the dot, they got to see the pyrotechnic show that makes the city shudder with explosions bursting with colour, lights, and gunpowder. Beforehand, the hotel had served them an exquisite range of typical Valencian and Spanish cuisine.
The captains of large yachts currently being repaired at the yard, such as Scorpione of London (46m Baltic), Tiziana (36m Abeking & Rasmussen), Doña Francisca (52m schooner), Disparate (a modern 26m motoryacht, Starfall (30m Southern Wind), Barbanegra (a modern Sherpa 60), Eugenia VII (a stunning 33m sailboat), Seljm (a classic 34m sailboat), and Alix (a Swan 98 that had sailed over from Mallorca for the occasion) thoroughly enjoyed the show and a truly unique day in a laid-back and friendly atmosphere, which also meant that they could meet other captains and the Varadero Valencia team.
At the end of 'mascletá', the guests were taken on a tour of the city's most iconic attractions, such as the Mercado de Colón market, where they tasted the 'Agua de Valencia' cocktail typical of the festival.
A few days beforehand, and as a type of ice-breaker, the yard had organised a paella at its premises as a preamble to the Fallas. Around fifty captains and yachting professionals attended to savour the dish par excellence of Valencian cuisine. The captains were blown away by this typical dish, made only with local ingredients.
With events like these, Varadero Valencia showcases culinary and cultural traditions, which is a positive way of creating bonds and showing its customers a culture as rich as the Valencian one. These customers stay for an average of two to six months in Valencia while having their yachts repaired or refitted at the yard. That's why it is so positive for them to experience local customs and soak up the city's atmosphere. In turn, Valencia quickly starts to feel like a second home and the captains begin to consider making it their winter base for annual refit and repair jobs.
