New Maritime Museum

For many years, people have talked about establishing a maritime museum in Ft. Lauderdale. Recently, the city, in cooperation with a local developer and the organizers of the museum, allocated 6,500 square feet of space for the museum in a mixed-use project on city land along the banks of the New River almost adjacent to the Performing Arts Center. A first-year program of special exhibitions and events is under development. Optimally, the museum will be a lively and engaging place for people to see, hear, explore, and learn about the waterborne heritage and environment of Ft. Lauderdale. For more information contact 954.461.7723, or visit the Website at flmaritimemuseum.org.

Cruiser’s Rights Upheld

In late October, Collier County Judge Rob Crown ruled that Marco Island’s anchorage regulations are inconsistent with Florida State Law and that the city could not supercede Florida law about where boats can anchor. Our frequent contributor Chuck Husick was a witness for the defense of local yachtsman David Dumas, who forced the issue by getting himself arrested for anchoring his 42-foot Kadey Krogen within 300 feet of a seawall. We thought we had seen the last of infringements on the freedom cruisers hold dear. But no...the Marco City Council has already held one closed door meeting with its attorneys and has scheduled another for December 3 to discuss how to appeal the judge’s decision. The city argues restrictions are necessary for the health, safety and welfare of its residents and property owners, and are allowed under “home rule” provisions. Judge Crown’s ruling strengthened the position of cruising groups that local municipalities cannot overrule state and federal laws regarding navigable waterways and safe haven and may not restrict anchoring unless the municipality provides a safe designated mooring or anchoring field. An appeal, if overturned in a higher court, could actually be a good thing. Stay tuned.

Who’s Your Buddy?

The last big sportfish built personally by Buddy Davis–a 68-footer–will soon roll out of the shed. Davis announced in October that he’s scaling back to his line of B&D center consoles. Built in Wanchese, North Carolina, at a 55,000 sq-ft plant, Davis’s CC line-up includes outboard powered 28- and 34-footers with seriously deep-V hulls. Davis prided himself in being able to build his big B&D sportfish on fixed price contracts, but lately, with the long build times necessary for the intricacies of custom yachts and wildly escalating prices for raw materials, that concept had lost its charm. This is not to say that the beautiful Davis 70 displayed at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show was the end of an era. Davis Yachts (the sportfish company) is now owned by Ira Trocki, who also owns Egg Harbor Yachts, Predator Yachts, Topaz Boats, Revenge Yachts, and Murray Brothers Products. Davis Yachts, which pay homage to founder Buddy Davis, are built in New Jersey.

Here’s A Name Change

If you are looking for venerable Grand Banks dealer and yacht broker Hal Jones, a long time fixture on the Florida waterfront, you’ll now find him in active retirement advising the owners of Classic Yachts International, which recently picked up the Grand Banks dealership for Florida’s East Coast. The president of Classic Yachts International is Steve Fithian, a former broker with Hal Jones & Co., who has a long track record with Grand Banks and was top salesman worldwide in 2003, 2005 and 2006. His partner and CEO is George Potochney. Classic Yachts International, located in Ft. Pierce and Ft. Lauderdale, will host a rendezvous for Grand Banks owners at Ocean Reef Club March 13-16.