Ken Denison Frankly Speaking: The Original Owners Rendezvous

The story (and photos) of the early Broward owners rendezvous are legendary.

This article was written by Ken Denison. Photography courtesy of Denison Archives.

I’m always awestruck by the “circle” photograph that was shot at one of our early Broward Marine Rendezvous. It was taken by Ken and Donna Chessler, who were hired to be part of our marketing group headed by Mel and Marty Wolfe. They were not experienced yacht photographers and equally uncomfortable about the notion of riding next to the open door of a helicopter hovering over the open ocean just off Key Largo. Equally daunting was the fact that none of the captains, experienced as they were, had ever attempted a perfectly spaced shot like this.

I was in that helicopter and communicated as best I could over my handheld VHF to ask a particular boat to “back up” or “move over”. The oldest boat, Dorisam, which Mom and Dad were on, had no thruster, which made close maneuvering almost impossible. But at some point, I radioed the group and said…“That’s it!”

All 17 boats hit their horns in a triumphal blast that we could hear in the helicopter. 

So how did all of this start and why has the concept of yacht Rendezvous become almost a marketing necessity in the eyes of manufacturers and other marine-related businesses? This was the first of its kind and brought about by the sheer necessity that came with my joining the company in the Fall of 1983. Charlie Barthold, the editor of Yachting Magazine summed it up pretty well when he wrote:

“The beginning of the modern Broward era can probably be traced to a Labor Day weekend in 1983. It was then that Frank Denison called on his 30-year-old son—Ken to move from Michigan and take over the company’s yard in Florida… Ken had to learn a lot. As Kit’s younger brother, Ken had an enormous amount of respect for the man he was replacing. At the same time, he had an enormous opportunity: to take a moderately successful yacht building company and make it excel. That first year, Ken had what he calls ‘baptism by fire on a very steep learning curve.’”

My inexperience in all of this led me to work out some new ideas in marketing. Up to this point, yacht sales were driven more by word of mouth than the level of advertising in other companies. With the help of Mel and Marty, we came up with a bold Broward logo and also initiated a campaign that poked fun at the “old guard” with double-page ads in the largest marine publications.

The Rendezvous concept however was far more successful in terms of generating sales and so, along with our marketing in print, we continued to push the envelope and expand our messaging to show how fun yachting can be.

Back in those days, it was customary to christen the yachts upon completion and invite the employees and their families to witness the ceremony. But then I had an idea. Why not invite the owners of these boats to a party down at the Ocean Reef Club and do the christening there?

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