Ft. Lauderdale Show
Better than ever, was the pronouncement at the 2006 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which can now lay claim to the title of the world’s largest, including a colorful collection of megayachts that drew an international crowd. After last year’s hurricanes, the late October weather seemed positively benign, the elements no doubt being anxious to please new owner Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III, who bought Yachting Promotions Inc. from Kaye Pearson last March. Under the Show Management umbrella, FLIBS opened with a title sponsor in Ginn Sur Mer, a $4.9 billion Grand Bahamas resort community in the planning stages, and reached a peak on a balmy evening with a Time4 Media Marine Group party honoring YACHTING’s kickoff 100th anniversary. Held on the upper deck of the Bahia Mar overlooking gleaming yachts as far as the eye could see, the party attracted friends from all docks of life, including Thomas Dammrich, president of the NMMA.
