Don: "I Don't Always Eat Eggs Raw"

Bravotv.com: Do you start every morning with a breakfast of raw eggs? What’s your standard yacht diet?
Don Abenante: Haha! I laughed at myself for that one. No, I don't always eat eggs raw. I was in a big rush that morning and did not have time to cook breakfast, so I did the old Rocky Balboa trick and chugged some eggs! I only do it if I am in a rush, and that was the only time I did it on Eros. Of course the cameras caught me, ha!

Bravotv.com: How did you feel about your “Aerosmith” performance?
DA: I am super goofy and will do anything to give the guest a laugh. So when Kate approached me for the idea, I said hell yea! Anything to get that tip money. About half way through when she was applying the makeup, I had my doubts. But after seeing the looks on the faces of the guests and how it brightened their faces, I was so excited! So excited I had to drop the old yeehaa! One of the guests approached me and told me what a thoughtful and incredible attempt it was. At least I can make the charter guests laugh!

Bravotv.com: What happened with the bow line drama?
DA: Thinking back to that afternoon dropping off our first charter guest and the miscommunication between me and Captain Lee, it comes down to the fact that I could barely hear him on the radio. And by the time I heard him, he actually was just talking to me over the bow and explaining he needed slack. He was trying to maneuver the stern over to the dock, but the bow line was too tight at first. As I let the slack out, we ended up in position. But at that point he had already yelled across the bow!

This is very common when working with new crew -- some captains are vocal, while others use just hand gestures. What it comes down to is the whole crew had to adapt to how Captain Lee converses, and I should have taken another wrap off so it would feed out better. What I ended up doing to solve this trouble in the future was to mark each line on the vessel from stern to the bow, physically marking each one at the bit with electrical tape. That way when any crew member has to feed out the line, they can go to the exact length it's supposed to be.

One thing I do want to say is I don't understand why Eddie says I wasn't taking orders. When your captain says to jump, you jump, and I would do anything for Captain Lee. No means no, so how would I ever say no to a direct order from him while being under way (or ever for that matter). I simply just could barely hear the man! At the end of the day we made it, and we all learned something new about how the crew works and fixed the problem at hand. That's what I call happy days, y’all!

Bravotv.com: Did you have a crush on Rocky?
DA: Haha, Rocky Raccoon is what I wanted to call her! One of my favorite Beatles jams. It reminds me of her: fun, eclectic, and full of energy. I was more excited that we had some good vibes on the boat. That's what Rocky brought to the table, and I applaud her for that. So did I have a crush for sure, but a crush in the way that I wanted to go see a Grateful Dead concert with her and have her make me giggle type of thing, ha!