Interior staff competition tabled

Yacht Next has hosted the annual Perfect Setting Tabletop Challenge at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show since 2008, but has put this year’s competition on hold.

Joanne Lockhart, owner of Yacht Next, a Ft. Lauderdale-based interior design and outfitting company, said the company’s design team has instead focused on the interior design and exterior styling of M/Y Finish Line, a 120-foot Trinity. Lockhart said the yacht is the first interior done by Trinity Yachts at the yard in Mississippi.

The competition has been open to about 18 teams of regular crew on yachts participating in the show. Each event has included two themes, formal and informal, to gauge the talents of interior staff.

Lockhart said the idea originally came from a magazine article about a table setting show in New York.

“I saw it and thought, ‘we need this for the boat show, there is nothing to showcase the  capabilities of the interior staff’,” she said. “Their work is like a secret that guests get to see. The show is great time for everyone else to see their ability and creativity. Some people aren’t aware that they don’t just clean toilets and dishes.”

The tabletop challenge is expected to resume in 2014.