Country Club Living - Palm Beach North - November 2026

8 C O U N T R Y C L U B L I V I N G - PA L M B E A C H N O R T H | N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 F or Laurie Smith, the path from a 22-year corporate career to the helm of a growing yacht charter and experience company was not something she had planned. It was a transition that emerged from a corporate re-organization, a family move to South Florida, a shared love of boats and an opportunity to turn her decades of experience in events and hospitality into something entirely new. Smith spent more than 30 years working in events and hospitality, including 22 years with a Fortune 8 healthcare company, where she managed a team responsible for educational conferences for leaders and healthcare professionals. When she and her husband decided to move from Colorado to Florida as their children headed to college, they eventually found their way to the Palm Beaches. “We ended up here in the Palm Beaches, which has been amazing,” Smith said. “We originally thought we were going to go between Palm Beach and Colorado, but we've fallen in love, rented out our house in Colorado, and are loving it.” Boating was already part of the family’s world. Her husband is a captain and a pilot, and their older son is also a pilot. But in South Florida, the Smiths saw a boat as a more practical opportunity than an airplane. “We purchased a boat that we decided would make a great charter boat, a great day boat, a great cocktail boat,” Laurie explained. “A vessel that’s fantastic for celebrations and milestones. Honestly, we couldn’t have imagined what this would grow into.” What it has turned into is the foundation for what Smith is now building through Boat Palm Beaches. The boat, named La Ondina, is a 50-foot Spanish day boat capable of taking 13 guests, with a captain and stewardess aboard each charter, and will now be the flagship of the larger Boat Palm Beaches fleet. That expansion, though, is not about becoming the biggest operation in the market. Instead, Smith wants Boat Palm Beaches to remain selective, personalized, and focused on the experience. “We have no intentions of being a giant boat rental company,” she explained. “We are creating bespoke experiences for guests, and we are working with single vessel owners to manage their day-to- day charter operations.” That, she added, creates an additional opportunity for the company: helping yacht owners turn underused vessels into productive assets while taking care of the operational details. In fact, Smith said some owners have already approached her after watching its early growth, including owners who PROFILES OF LEADERSHIP – By Dan Hauser - Photos by Neil Cohen Photography - FROM LA ONDINA TO BOAT PALM BEACHES Laurie Smith Cover Feature