Looking to the future of yachting, YATCO interviews several fresh faces in the industry to discover how they got their start, their career highlights so far, and what they predict for the future of the yacht market.
Jeroen Landeweer is a yacht broker for Denison Yachting and the co-founder of Chaser Yachts, where he builds high-performance luxury day boats and chase boats for superyachts.
Featuring Jeroen Landeweer, Yacht Broker of Denison Yachting and Co-Founder of Chaser Yachts
How did you start in yachting?
I grew up in a boating family. My family migrated to the USA back in 1980 and they started building sport fishing yachts in 1993 under the name Garlington Landeweer. A Dutch family building traditional sport fishing yachts, which is rare in this industry.
I could not wait to follow in these same footsteps, so after years growing up spending my summer breaks on both a boat in Florida and the Bahamas and a sailboat in the Mediterranean, three family members and I founded Chaser Yachts, where we build Dutch high performance luxurious dayboats in the 50ft range.
After moving to the U.S. to grow this business stateside, I found out that a combination of representing the Chaser Yachts brand and brokering yachts was a perfect mix as clients value my experience as a boat builder and my knowledge of brokerage. It all worked out perfectly when Denison sold the first Chaser ever built–which was one of the key reasons I wanted to work with the company.
After years growing up spending my summer breaks on both a boat in Florida and the Bahamas and a sailboat in the Mediterranean, three family members and I founded Chaser Yachts, where we build Dutch high performance luxurious dayboats in the 50ft range.
As a younger professional in the industry, what trends have you seen, and what do you predict for the coming years?
I am positive about the current market. During Covid-19, the market reached an all-time high, where prices went through the roof and there was a scarcity of boats for clients. Right now, you can see that the supply and demand of boats are returning to a healthy balance. Boating is (luckily) getting increasingly popular and with all the smart innovations and technology that modern boats have, the experience is more worry-free, luxurious, and safer than ever. Looking at all these things, my expectation is that the market will keep growing.
What are some of your most memorable and successful moments?
When imported our Chaser Yachts demo (the Chaser 500R) into the United States, the most memorable moment was when we sold this first vessel. It was our first big company achievement, and since I have been with the family-run company from the start, this was something I will never forget. Seeing the new owner be so happy with a product we developed, built, and represented was a spectacular moment for our team.
What advice would you give to someone looking to join the yacht world?
What helped me most in this industry is to meet and communicate with as many industry professionals as possible. It is a small and niche world where everybody knows each other, and most people are helpful to industry colleagues. I came a long way by reaching out. For me, choosing to work with a company like Denison Yachting has been a perfect match; the coaching, the team, the marketing, assistance with sales/closings etc. are phenomenal and have really been helpful for me to focus on the work I aspire to achieve. Communicate with the right people and find people or company that will help you accomplish and flourish in what you are good at.
Communicate with the right people and find people or company that will help you accomplish and flourish in what you are good at.
What do you aspire to for the future?
I would aspire to grow as an individual in the brokerage industry and as a co-founder of Chaser Yachts. Our brand is acknowledged for pedigree, high performance, luxurious dayboats that are unique in handling, performance, low-maintenance, and style, and I want to increase our worldwide presence. I also want to help create more transparency and honesty in the brokerage world, as well as continue building long relationships with clients and long-lasting partnerships with colleagues in the industry. I am learning every day; I am part of a fantastic team that I believe will help me get the absolute best out of the goals described above. I am excited to be a part of that!
