She couldn’t resist a man in uniform. On May 21, 2008, Damire Winn was a civilian studying fashion at Parsons School of Design when she experienced Fleet Week for the first time. She was having a girls’ night at a Lower East Side watering hole that just happened to be swimming with Navy men.
“We kind of looked outside and saw these guys in uniform and were like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Fleet Week.’ So of course we went outside to talk to them,” Winn, now 36, recalled of the “eye candy” in dress whites.
One of the men was fair-haired logistics specialist David Winn who “looked like Popeye” and insisted on buying her a drink.
“He looked really good in that uniform,” Winn said. “It really brought out his arms and his butt.”
After a few rounds, the duo escaped to a quiet corner of the bar at the now-closed Sixth Ward, where David leaned in close to give her a kiss.
“He stole a kiss from me, but he did it so smoothly I was like, ‘OK!’ ” she recalled.
But things stopped there. David, a native Texan escorted her back to her apartment like a “perfect gentleman,” a refreshing change from the finance bros and investment bankers she typically dated.
“He was like ‘Oh my God, you’re so beautiful,’ ” Winn said. “I was so used to the New York aggressive player.”
David texted Winn asking for a tour of the city the next day. She showed him the 9/11 Memorial and they strolled hand-in-hand through Battery Park gazing at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. That night they set sail on a romantically rowdy party boat where they danced all night.
“That was kind of our first date,” Winn said.
When her sailor had to depart back to Norfolk, Virginia, three days after their first meeting, they texted non-stop, talking for hours and a few days later, he drove to New York for a short visit.
Then, on June 24, he called her on the phone with a romantic proposal.
“He was like ‘what if we get married?’ ” Winn said. “I was like, ‘sure!’ ”
They eloped at a Virginia courthouse on July 2, 2008, and had a wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico with family and friends three years later. Now in Jefferson, Georgia, they have two children and will celebrate 14 years of marriage this summer.
“I watched the ‘Fleet Week’ episode of ‘Sex and the City,’ but I never imagined I would ever meet my husband during it,” Winn said.
Want to hook your own sailor?
New York City dating expert Amber Soletti, founder of OnSpeedDating and SingleAndTheCity, has tips for fun this Fleet Week, which runs through Tuesday.
Keep your opening line short and sweet: “Say, ‘Thank you for your service, let me buy you a drink.’ I’m telling you these guys love to feel appreciated and they love to drink,” Soletti told The Post.
Avoid the obvious: Don’t say, “I love a man in uniform,” or any variation, Soletti advised. “They get that all the time. I also saw a woman approach a sailor at one of our events and say ‘for a sailor you seem so grounded.’ That definitely fell flat.”
Look for someone who’s shipshape: A good sailor’s going to be fit, and look sharp, his uniform should be Crest white and pressed, Soletti said. Avoid a sailor that is a sloppy drunk and can’t hold their liquor, which will more often than not lead to performance issues and potentially vomit. If they’re setting sail the next day you won’t get a re-do.
Midtown is your best bet You’re most likely to find your sailors in Hell’s Kitchen and Times Square, which are convenient to Piers 86 and 88. “You’ll find them sight-seeing and hanging out in bars and restaurants in both of these areas,” Soletti said.
