Excitement is in the air in South Florida as delegates began arriving in Palm Beach for the 3rd Annual Superyacht Design Symposium. Attendees to this two-day workshop on large yacht design issues and management topics reads like a Who’s Who of the industry’s “A-Team.”

Last night, Brandon L. Rinker & Associates hosted a dinner for speakers and sponsors on the waterfront of an exclusive private mansion, just along from The Breakers resort where the Symposium takes place. Rinker, whose family has lived in Palm Beach for generations, told the Palm Beach Daily News, “It’s a phenomenal opportunity to market this home. With deep water and a private dock, this is a home designed for yacht owners.”

3rd Annual Superyacht Design Symposium

Local resident and yacht owner Alex Dreyfoos and his wife attended the dinner. Dreyfoos will be speaking at the Symposium on Tuesday, addressing his motivations and driving force behind the development of his award-winning SWATH hull design on his 134 ft yacht, Silver Cloud. Dreyfoos and his wife have just returned from a 19 month cruise on their purpose built yacht.

The program begins this morning with the most challenging issue facing the industry: Ramifications of the impending Maritime Labor Convention, which will have serious impact on the arrangement and size of crew areas for yachts in commercial service. The discussion will be led by Alan Dabbiere, former owner of Constance, who is keen to challenge how these regulations will affect him and his young family when they decide to build a new yacht.

“Maybe one in 100 yachts over 24 meters is not being built to comply with commercial (charter) requirements,” says Tony Hambrook, managing director of Alloy Yachts in New Zealand. “So you can see that this issue is going to affect all of yachting.”

Also on the agenda for day one are sections about innovative designs for exterior living spaces and interior areas devoted to specific owner interests, cost containment, and amphibious aircraft as yacht tenders.