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DOCKMASTER SPOTLIGHT: Las Olas Docks
SWIFTSURE MARINE F I N E YA C H T C A R P E N T RY
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Lauderdale’s ambassador at Las Olas By Dorie Cox If you don’t know much about Ft. Lauderdale, you might think Dockmaster Levend Ekendiz owns the city’s Las Olas Docks or even founded the city himself because he is so enthusiastic about both. His infectious smile welcomes visitors to the marina on the Intracoastal Waterway at the north end of the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show. He manages 52 slips and a mooring field, and he wants each boat to remember its experience here. “I feel like I am ambassador to the whole area,” Ekendiz said. “People
remember things and one good memory can make their trip.” Ekendiz left Turkey at age 21 and signed up with the U.S. Merchant Marines. “It’s a big world. I wanted to travel and get paid.” He fulfilled that goal as a deck officer on ships, logging more than 40 Atlantic crossings. After 10 years, he came ashore in Seattle, then Florida. “My whole life just came together,” he said of moving to Florida. Find out more about Ekendiz’s path to Las Olas Docks, the marina’s amenities, and his speedy athletic talent in the rest of this story at www.the-triton.com.
ISS honors YachtAid Global, Alloy By Lucy Chabot Reed Capt. Mark Drewelow accepted the International Superyacht Society’s Distinguished Crew Award on Thursday night on behalf of all the captains and crew who have volunteered with YachtAid Global. Drewelow founded the charitable organization YachtAid Global three years ago. It identifies schools in less fortunate communities around the world and acquires supplies to help them. Yachts help in the transport and delivery of the materials. Drewelow was the long-time captain on M/Y Dorothea, stopping at many small villages along Central America. When Drewelow left yachts in 2003, he vowed to find a way to get much-needed supplies to those children. He launched YachtAid Global to match traveling yachts with the donated goods that needed to be transported. The captain and crew on S/Y Vivid delivered simple supplies such as paper and pencils to a school on Komodo Island in Indonesia this summer and noticed that the children were constantly dodging Komodo dragons outside their classrooms. The captain suggested that YachtAid Global build a fence around the school. The fence project was completed in
September. “Some of what we do are simple projects that mean a lot to the kids in these schools,” Drewelow said. “It’s morphed into an entity where owners are now starting to notice. The focus of the owners is shifting to use their vessels as a tool.” YachtAid Global is always in need of vessels traveling to remote villages, mostly in Central America but also in Alaska and Indonesia. The schools are pre-cleared so all the entrance and clearance issues have been worked out ahead of time. Other yachts that have participated include S/Y Timoneer, M/Y Ice Bear, M/Y Twizzle and M/Y Seven Cs, which is at FLIBS on the face dock at Hall of Fame Marina. For more information, visit www. yachtaidglobal.org. Tony Hambrook, managing director of Alloy Yachts in New Zealand, was awarded the ISS Leadership Award on Thursday night. He has led the company for two decades. Two of Alloy Yachts’ vessels won top design awards at the ISS gala celebration Thursday, the 131-foot (40m) M/Y Allogante for best power yacht of its size and the 169-foot (52m) S/Y Mondango.