Gregarious seaman starts Yacht Clubs

Steeven Knight, the owner of Yacht Clubs of the Americas, he may have powered that business into being by sheer force of personality in 2004.

Steeven Knight COURTESY PHOTO It could also be attributed to a youth spent on the water, soaking up a philosophical outlook on the sea; or that he's following the family tradition - they've been in the Florida hospitality business since Franklin D. Roosevelt was in office. No joke: he has stories of a great-grandfather - "an ornery old cuss" - who had Roosevelt to his home for dinner, and yet still refused to wear shoes.

"There seems to be a little bit of my great-grandfather in me," Knight said.

But if you ask him straight out, Knight will tell you he started his Yacht Clubs to preserve Marina space, which was being lost to condominium developments.

"The preservation of water access through the preservation of marinas," he said. "For many years the marinas were getting gobbled up by guys building condos."

He impressively and breathlessly describes his Clubs - the mahogany doors and stone floors, the "spotless, spick and span and gorgeous" facilities; the 10,000-square-foot clubhouse's ocean views, the immaculate service which ushers you to and from the sea effortlessly.

"Basically once we touch the handle of your car the work load is off you and on us," he said.

He also has a strict no tipping policy.

"I want the guy that's got the 35-foot boat getting the same treatment as the guy that has the 85-foot boat," Knight insisted.

His first development on Sanibel Island was 90 percent sold out before its completion in 2006, and he said Wall Street was enthusiastic enough about his project to lend him $200 million to fund it.

Less than two months ago he opened a new Club in Naples; last week he opened one in Key West; and this week he'll be opening one in Tampa. Boaters can buy wet slip or dry dock space at the Clubs for their yachts both small and enormous, for a price of course, then enjoy the benefits at any one of Knight's locations.

"As an owner of any one location you have the ability to travel throughout the network," Knight said. "We have created a constituency throughout the state of Florida that as you travel around you can enjoy on your boat. We're working to build a network where every four or five hours you could stop, have dinner, fuel up, and be treated as you are at your home port."

One of the reasons for his success in a down market is that his clientele is wealthier than average. As Knight describes it, he's looking for 3 percent of the market share, not 15 percent of the share. With his Clubs, he caters to that 3 percent's every whim, and works long and hard to do it.

"I believe I'm steady handed, very fair, very driven to have the things done that I need done," he said. "I expect my team to deliver to their member's perfection. I'm a perfectionist. I get to the point, get to the issue and move forward."

Recently, an average day has him up before sunrise and flying all over the state and to the Florida Keys and back before it's over.

It's a way of life he's familiar with.

"I'm full of energy," Knight, "a very young 52," said in his gravely voice. "I'm yet a young man with great vision and great destiny to go ahead. I've had saltwater in my veins since I was born. I was always on the boat with my dad even when I was a little wanker…I took my first boating trip at eight to ten weeks old."

His family history is rich and varied. His father, now 84, was a yacht captain, who opened a seafood restaurant in St. Augustine in the late 1970s, where Knight used to fish through a whole in the kitchen floor. (Now he runs a horse ranch in Florida.)

His mother opened another restaurant recently, at age 67, "because she was bored." The great-grandfather that likes to go shoeless was also the first lighthouse attendant at the Pompano Lighthouse. The stories could regale any crowd for hours, but unfortunately Knight was getting ready to board a plane to Key West.

Soon Knight plans to take a break from the work and spend more time on his own boat and with his family, all of whom live in Florida.

"I believe there's some tranquility and peace of mind on the water," he said. "I think it has to do with the surreal peacefulness of it."