Several Broward's spotted in Ft. Lauderdale...

Bahia Mar/Pier 66 - June 2005

Bahia Mar/Pier 66 - June 2005...

Come summertime, Bahia Mar and Pier 66 are about as quiet as democrat in a room full of republicans. But in recent years, more of South Florida's favorite spectacles are taking advantage of the cheap season and giving yacht enthusiasts the best reason suffer sun-stroke… a glimpse of aspiration. Straggling snowbirds, coupled with a megayacht explosion that rivals Splenda, is giving dock masters a better reason to rejoice than the repeal of a manatee zone.

Never satisfied with mere manufacturer photos, your industrious administrator shut down the Intel and fired up the Opti's, plotting a course to bring you pictures of Ft. Lauderdale’s finest.

Because Bahia Mar & Pier 66 are based in Broward County, a number of the yachts we see often carry the same name. On this particular weekend, we saw more Browards than Boston Whalers. Maybe the fleet is in town to celebrate Tom Lewis’s continuation of Frank Denison’s original brainchild. Or maybe… my lens has an affinity for the boats I sketched as a kid.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Tom Lewis, the new owner of Broward, and we’ll have images of the NEW Broward’s uploaded in a few days. The new Broward’s are beautiful, but I tend to favor the traditional lines of the late 70’s and early 80’s. This is probably due to the memories, but most likely… because they’re affordable now!

We’ll kick things off with an ominous picture of Bahia Mar. Summer in South Florida often brings rain in the afternoon. Yacht crews don’t complain about this… it’s natures way of reducing washdown duties.

Hope you enjoy the cruise…

The order of these pictures is random, between all of the marinas, but we'll begin with the Broward's. There are many more them around then we spotted on this day, but here's a sample...

The first simply has to be one of the most elegant SportFish yachts ever built. There have only been a couple of these SF's built. One of them is "in-the-bones" at Broward's yard, waiting for a buyer to finish out the interior, engines, electronics, etc.

This is Broward's 105' SportFish docked at Bahia Mar...

Shortly after, she was seen getting underway...

The hull is light beige or creme with an accenting green hand-rail. Not my preference, but until one can afford to have a say in color selection, might be best to keep quiet.

As she idled past... the sliding, curved aft windows took center stage. The upper aft deck is larger than the cockpit on most sport fish yachts!

"Northern V's" is an 83' Broward that was built in 1983 and she calls Pier 66 home. This is an exceptionally well maintained Broward, displaying the traditional lines that Broward became famous for...

The rising flair of the bow on this early 80's Broward shows the direction these hulls were taking. When Frank Denison originally built these boats, they were intended to navigate inland coastal waters, as this was the demand of buyers at the time. Since then, today's yachts are expected to make long passages in deep waters, often crossing oceans with weather that would have been considered too treacherous at the time.

Docked near Northern V's at Pier 66, this is the 1993 100' Broward "Celebration". There are subtle, decorative design elements that ushered in the 90's, that almost appear to give a slight nod to Bannenberg's architecture, while still maintaining the modern, yet classic lines that Broward became known for...

Some of these accenting elements appear on "Danielle" as well, seen here at the Ft. Lauderdale City Docks, adjacent to the Las Olas bridge.

This is "Kelly Ann", docked along the waterway suites at Pier 66. The cockpit extension and rod holders give a clue to where this owner's interests lay...

I failed to get the name of this late model Broward at the Hall of Fame marina (Lady... something). Larger windows have become increasingly adapted and with good reason...

Possibly one of the last and largest of the early 80's Broward's is docked behind a private residence along the intracoastal between Bahia Mar and Pier 66. The photo is a little fuzzy... but so is my logic.

If you have a tow boat on your bow, and one off your stern, it's probably not engine trouble... it's help navigating the twists and turns of Ft. Lauderdale's New River. This is "Freedom". At first glance, the flag blue hull leads you to think this was formerly "True North", but it's not. Although they were very similar and built around the same time, the hulls are different.

"Freedom" was heading for the same... southbound, toward the inlet at Port Everglades.

And the last one spotted, was among the largest of the late model Broward's built. Sorry, I didn't get the name (not sure it had one).

Another angle. This is looking west from the docks near Bahia Cabana. I'm sure Broward's and many other US built yachts look much the same to our European contingent, but they hold the same fascination for those us here, as the vessels you observe abroad.