Mike Brill founded Export Yacht & Ship and is the driving force behind it. Overseeing all of our highly experienced staff, Brill brings his vast experience in the boating industry to bear on each and every sales transaction, ensuring the buyers’ needs are met and their expectations are exceeded. Born in the coastal city of Miami, Florida, Brill was a natural on the water. He began learning to run and maintain his first vessel, a 13-foot Boston Whaler, at the age of only seven. By the time he graduated high school, Brill knew his life career would be on the water and enrolled in the New York Merchant Marine Academy (Fort Schuyler), where he graduated with an Unlimited Third Mate’s license.

He experienced the sea as a mate on various ships, while spending his summers teaching at both his alma mater and at the Texas Merchant Marine Academy. He achieved the position of Captain of an 800-passenger cruise ship at the unprecedented age of only 25. By age 27, Brill obtained the highest license in the world – the U.S. Coast Guard’s Master of Steam and Motor Vessels of ANY Gross Tons upon Oceans. After a few more years as a Captain in the Merchant Marine and having achieved the goals he set for himself, Brill decided he wanted to work more with a variety of vessels and to teach on a one-to-one level. He joined the brokerage firm of South Florida Yachts (SFY). During his time at SFY, Brill learned all the ins and outs of the yacht selling and purchasing process – from the first listing of a yacht to the completed delivery. He continued to pilot many different craft by assisting the firm in their yacht delivery to buyers, to and from boat shows, as well as assisting with sea trials and much more. While at SFY, Brill began to see an emerging buying trend in the yacht brokerage business.

While “in-country” sales were beginning to decline, international clients wanted to capitalize on the strong international dollar. Emails and telephone calls from international buyers were on the increase, but many yacht brokerage firms were not designed to handle the complicated and intricate needs of these buyers. Nor were they able to resolve the international buyers’ issue with sending a deposit before negotiating a “done deal”. Thus, Export Yacht & Ship was born from the plight of the international buyers and designed specifically to assist them in the yacht purchasing process from start to finish and beyond, making the entire process easy and convenient!