Bradford Marine acquired the Roscioli Yachting Center. What can captains and crew expect with different ownership? All in the Family: A Contemporary Marina’s Legacy Grows Many people have the option to go home after work, but not yacht crew. Living at work means lounge time is a night in a crew cabin or mess area. To enhance crew life, Bradford Marine’s expansion on the New River in Fort Lauderdale has created a nice space, a “third space,” for their visiting crew, according to Meg Kroll, marketing coordinator at the company. This is just one way Bradford Marine is changing the scene for yachts, crew, and the yachting industry. In an era of large corporations and conglomerates buying marinas and shipyards, the family of John Kelly, and son Michael, bucked a trend when they bought Bradford Marine in 2019. The Kelly family then reversed the corporate trend when they bought Roscioli Yachting Center from OneWater Marine in October. Both Bradford and Roscioli had been family-owned since the 1960s and now maintain that family status under the family company, Fort Lauderdale Yacht Harbor (FLYH). OneWater does maintain a lease arrangement with Bradford for their Sunseeker Yacht sales, warranty, and service operations. Crew Amenities at the Forefront After the outdoor furniture was delivered to Bradford Marine’s new waterfront crew area, Capt. Jon Barrett and some of the crew from M/Y No Bad Ideas, a 130-foot Westport, gathered around a charcoal grill near Bradford’s new gas grill barbeque area under a tiki hut. “We’ve set up our Kalahari TV,” Capt. Barrett said with a laugh, as he explained that some meals are better with this South African version of culinary prep and entertainment. “This is a great hurricane spot and the crew area is a social spot.” Aside from being a recreational area with a fire pit, couches, tables, chairs, large grass area, and new trees, crew do some business networking at the riverfront dock, Capt. Barrett said. “You never know who wants to change positions, or where you might find a good fit for a new crew,” Capt. Barrett said. Chief Stew Xan Barrett and Second Stew Andi Weppenaar, both of M/Y No Bad Ideas, enjoyed the clear, warm South Florida night in new Adirondack chairs with Stew Maretha Van Heerden of M/Y Clic. The stews said they have come out to the crew area every day after work. “It’s fantastic,” Barrett said. “It’s like they’re getting out of the shipyard racket and more into a marina with the crew amenity area.” Capt. Barrett said he has noticed the efforts of the staff, even from the President and Chief Operating Officer, Michael Kelly. “Shipyards can be like a neighborhood where people don’t know their neighbors, crew just walk to the guard gate and then go out to dinner,” Kelly said. “But with this crew area, it’s a place for people to come together, a space so crew don’t have to go out to Las Olas.” Future plans include a stage, yoga area, movie nights, and eventually, a swimming pool. Growing With Yachts and Crew On this same spot on the New River more than 60 years ago, a large yacht was 100 feet and the nearby Interstate 95 was under construction. Dieter Cosman and Charles Blickle Sr. sold and repaired boats at their growing company, Bradford Marine, while Bob Roscioli painted boats as his business grew into the Roscioli Yachting Center next door. Jimmy Floyd remembers those early days. He graduated high school in 1976, and got a call from his uncle, Jimmie Smallwood, president of Bradford. “He asked if he would be dockmaster and I said, ‘What is that?’,” Floyd said. “I was 18 and knew nothing about boats.” Now retired from Bradford, Floyd recalls when only a handful of yachts reached 120 feet, and most were 60 to 80 feet. The central road of Bradford’s yard was known as Main Street, complete with wooden pots with palm trees at the entrance to every slip. Floyd believes the Kellys are bringing Bradford back to what it was. “They are dressing it back up – they came in like tornadoes with a lot of big ideas and people said, ‘Yeah, yeah,’” Floyd said. “Then the Kellys shut everybody up – they did it big and are doing what they said.” Marina Enhancements, Not Just a Shipyard Today, Bradford is moving away from the shipyard feel and aims to be known as a full-service superyacht repair facility and marina with locations in Fort Lauderdale and Freeport, Grand Bahama. After the purchase of Bradford Marine and Bradford Grand Bahamas, the Bradford Marine family of businesses crossed the water to the east to buy Pipewelders by Bradford Marine, High Seas Technology, and P&R Canvas. As the city of Fort Lauderdale wrangles with transportation issues, the Kellys are monitoring how vehicles and trains will cross the New River and working to confirm the choice is not detrimental to yachting. With the east yard in Dania and Fort Lauderdale, the west yard in Davie, and paint facilities in Hollywood, Florida, Bradford is part of three Florida municipalities and keeps an eye to the future. “We are leaders in the space and we have seen an evolution in both boats and customers. We’re watching the future and meeting the needs,” Kelly said. “We’ve integrated the team at Roscioli, we appreciate their capabilities and now have a team of over 260 skilled craftsmen and women.” Across the 38-acre property, boat-lift capacity range includes a 70 and 150-ton Travelift, a 250-ton Syncrolift, and a 320-ton Travelift for vessels up to 150 feet. The in-water dockage capacity is 19,000 linear feet of in-water dockage for yachts up to 180 feet, plus 5,000 feet of covered, in-water dockage, and dry dockage up to 3,500 linear feet. The Bradford Marine Grand Bahama facility, 60 miles to the east in the Bahamas, has over 25-feet of draft, unrestricted air draft, a 150-ton Travelift, and a 1,200-ton drydock. “Our crew amenities cement that idea that we are not a dusty and dirty shipyard,” Kelly said. “We are clean with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) – our focus is on the environment.” And to address industry concerns that the family could sell the business? “Everyone has seen that we are elevating yachting, we want to be leaders in the industry,” Kelly said. “A key to yachting is service and that is our focus. We want to be a part of maintaining this industry.” “At the end of the day, dad and I are here every day, we love boating,” he said. “This is a generational business; it will be in the family for decades to come. There are no other investors. We love this great community.”