Holy Ship! 11.0 Recap

Well, it’s come and gone, folks. The festival of all festivals is over until 2019. Let the ‘TBTs’ burst onto your timelines. I, personally, never thought I would make it to Holy Ship! until I hit the 2020 waitlist I signed up for but by some stroke of luck, I ended up there this year.

If you don’t know what Holy Ship! is, it’s a rave cruise full of EDM enthusiasts. The average hours slept are around 2.5 a night, DJs walk around and hang out with their fans, and the amount of crazy B2B sets are limitless. Oh, and you stop on a tropical island for a day. It’s basically any festival-goers wet dream.

Here were some of my favorite highlights from Holy Ship:

• Green Velvet walking around with all his fans for hours– one of the coolest parts about Holy Ship! is seeing your favorite DJs as your peers, something that doesn’t happen at any other festival.

• A man dressed in a lifeguard outfit screaming “SHARK IN THE WATER” into a megaphone during Jauz’s set #Sharksquad.
• Ekali’s Day 2 Set– I’ve seen Ekali probably 4 times, but this was by far the best I’ve seen him play. Not to mention,  I saw him walking around and told him how great it was, and he was the nicest, most humble dude ever.
• A man sitting down and talking to a hand puppet he made himself for 30 minutes straight.
• JAILZ– Jauz B2B Snails was definitely not what I expected. They dropped basically only House tracks but they played whatever they felt like playing, which is another rarity you don’t see at other fests.

• Free food– The ability to stop by the cafeteria and get food whenever I want is something I will never take for granted. Ever.
• Fisher’s Day 1 Set– If you like house, this set would have knocked you off your feet. According to the 11.0 Facebook group consensus, his song “Stop It” was the song of the Ship.
• Claude Vonstroke– Claude played literally 8 sets on the first night and jumped in on pretty much any set he could. He was going hard the whole time, definitely MVP of 11.0

• Themes– the last two nights always have themes and it was so fun to see everyone dress up and go all out. It also made it easier to talk to people and get to know them!
• SHIPFAM!– The best part of Holy Ship! is the people on it. The people I met this past week were so much fun and so inclusive. On the ship, you’re a family. Treating anyone otherwise, including the staff and the Ship itself, is not what Holy Ship! is all about. Respecting the Ship and everyone on it is the most important part Shipfam, and I’m so glad I got to experience it.

If you have the chance, the time, the money, etc. GET ON HOLY SHIP! You will not regret it.

Photos: Rukes