Melissa Zeno
Membership Executive

Melissa Zeno is an avid boater who spent allot of time cruising the Florida waters on her 30 ft sailboat. Her background is in communications and she handles all of the social media for SBC, as well as membership sales for SBC. She grew up around the water and when she’s not introducing new members to the boating lifestyle, you’ll find her out at one of the many sandbars in the Dunedin/Tarpon Springs area.

Email: Melissa@sovereignboatclub.com | Tel: 734-564-4499

Greg Sweeney
General Manager

Greg Sweeney is the General Manager of the team and is a boating industry veteran having spent over 25 years working in technical aspects of engines and related aspects of boats, with positions at Volvo Penta, Ilmor and Mercury Marine. He has been a certified tech on Yamaha outboards. More recently he has been active in introducing boaters to the boating lifestyle through clubs. Greg has been a life-long boater all over the country and currently lives on Treasure Island, west of St. Pete. Greg is in charge of all aspects of the boat club including sales, the social calendar, customer service and making sure all members have a rewarding experience.

Email: Gsweeney@sovereignboatclub.com | Tel: 727-200-3474

Capt. Will Mason
Fleet and Training Manager

Will is in charge of keeping our boats ship shape while making sure our members receive the proper instruction to safely operate our boats. Capt. Will has been operating and managing many types of vessels from a young age. His experience instructing bareboat charters, fishing charters, and boat clubs make him a great fit for this role. He specializes in training classes and helping boaters operate their own boats at a high level with his company “The Captain’s Coach.” He resides in Gulfport, Fla. and is an avid fisherman, spearfisherman, and diver in his free time. You’ll be sure to see him on the docks frequently.

Jeff Hammond
Principal

Jeff is a 51-year veteran of the boating industry, and over the years has been an editor or publisher of 7 major boating magazines in America, including Boating, Yachting, Motor Boating, The Skipper, Motorboat, and Motoryacht International. He was the founder of Power and Motoryacht, and was co-founder of BoatTEST.com, where he is now the CEO.

Jeff has owned a number of boats over his career in boating ranging from a 15’ sailboat to a 92’ motoryacht, with fishing and cruising boats in between from 19’ to 55’. He has sailed, raced, and cruised all over the world in both sail and powerboats. He has written three books on boating, including one on the America’s Cup. He’s a member of the New York Yacht Club.

Capt. Steve Larivee
Test Captain

A lifelong boater, he started in a Boston Whaler when he was 8 years old, and holds a 100-Ton master’s license. Capt. Steve has commanded ferries, commercial fishing boats, excursion boats, and now is BoatTEST’s best-known test captain, handling everything from a PWC to a megayacht. He has also created the most comprehensive boating video educational course that is still available in a 4 DVD set.

Capt. Steve is probably best known for the thousands of videos he has made for BoatTEST.com, where he is the Director of Testing. His sign-off, “We’ll see you on the water”, has been immortalized.

Capt. Steve will be inspecting every boat put into the program to make sure that it meets the high standards the company requires of each vessel that it represents.

Danette Szakaly
Project Manager

Danette manages various projects related to the boat club including all the daily administrative tasks for its boat owners and members. Experienced in the marine industry, Danette previously held positions at The Moorings & Sunsail as well as Dream Yacht Charter.

An avid boater and sailor herself, she and her husband currently own a 43’ sailboat that they cruise regularly.