Why I became a founding member

John Mann and David Reed, very immersed in the yachting business, saw the gaps in understanding what the big private yachts meant to the economy throughout the country. They really opened my eyes to the lack of advocacy in the superyacht business.

That led to the discussion that united we're quite strong and we can become a force — and let's make sure that it's not just a group of companies having a good time and a party, but really delivering good return on investment for the members by representing them in Washington when people are making these crazy rules and regs.

Early accomplishments I'm proudest of

Starting up at FLIBS and letting people know “Hey, we exist.” Also alerting people to the grey-water rules and regs that applied to commercial vessels and yachts, when they were two separate things, and how we should change that. How we got more clarity on immigration, visas for crew members, and educating captains and crew about what's right and what's wrong.

It was that early highlighting of issues and getting people to say, “We'd love to get that fixed. What are you going to do about it?” — and then people coming to us and saying, “We want to join you and do that.”

What membership brought to GMT

The networking, the relationships that we built, the trust, and the doors that it opened were impressive. We still do business with a lot of those people and companies. I was also chairman for four years, so that's four years of networking right at the beginning.

Then throughout COVID, yachts became places of isolation for families. The hardest part was the crew. We still needed to rotate crew, but we couldn't get them qualified as essential workers to move them through certain countries. Through some of our USSA contacts, I was able to get to people in immigration and customs I wouldn't ordinarily have had, and we were able to move crew, especially in and out of the Bahamas. I'm grateful for that opportunity.

What I'd like to see the USSA accomplish

I was really proud when we started getting Congressional notice. It was a moment of saying, “Wow, somebody in Washington gets it, they're not scared to be associated with a big white boat, and they realize the impact on so many lives.”

I would like to see more people standing up and explaining that this isn't just a rich billionaire — here's what's actually behind it. Obviously we've got to keep an eye on tariffs and put our hands up and say, “Okay, you realize if you do that, you're going to kill this.” Also, keep hosting networking. The value for members is learning about each other's businesses, relationship building, and trusting in each other.

What sets the USSA apart

The fact that we encompass all of it, and you can dive into each section as much or as little as you want is key. Something on the advocacy side could affect my business in a big way, so I can get help on that, whereas somebody else may need to drive customers, so they'll focus on the networking and the events. The USSA gives you the opportunity to do it all.