When I'm not working, my favorite pastime is surfing, and I also have fun kite boarding and most other water sports. I love to travel, try new restaurants and appreciate architecture. In February 2019, my wife, Lawson, and I moved to Playa Venao, Panama, and in July, our son Jack was born.
A Panamanian with a South African father and an American mother, he is sure to have interesting stories! The start of our family adventure, learning a new culture, new language, and enjoying living in a place where it is so easy to travel and explore Central America, South America, and beyond...oh and the surfing.
Born in Knysna, South Africa, a beautiful coastal village located on the Garden Route, I attended school in Knysna, Graaff-Reinet, and finally Johannesburg, where I graduated from King Edwards V11 High School.
After high school, I served two years in the South African Navy. During my national service, I met life-long friends that would later prove to be the catalyst for me obtaining my first job in the super yacht industry.
After completing two years in the Navy, I enrolled at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, where I completed a Construction Management Degree. With this degree, I participated in multiple construction projects in England, Denmark, Holland, and France. During this time, I also traveled to the Mediterranean and South East Asia to experience the cultures, cuisines, landscapes, and surfing.
Continuing my travels to the United States, I arrived in Florida in 1997. One of the first people that I had the good fortune of running into was a friend from my Navy days who “showed me the ropes” of being a deckhand. This was my introduction into the yachting industry and the beginning of my career.
I spent the following six years working on board charter yachts cruising the east coast of the United States, as far north as Nova Scotia and south to Grenada in the Caribbean. During this time, I gained invaluable experience that has served me well throughout my yachting career. These skills included navigation, ship maintenance, engineering, problem solving, budgeting, accounting, teamwork, attention to detail, crew dynamics, safety at sea, and professionalism. I also thoroughly enjoyed establishing and maintaining relationships with the yacht charter brokers and charter clients who have all added tremendous value to my charter education and continues to do so.
In August 2003, I graduated from the United Kingdom Maritime Coastguard Agency with a Master Class C.E 4 Certificate of Competence limited to 3000GT. Upon graduating from the Maritime Coastguard Agency, I have been the captain on yachts cruising the Atlantic, Pacific, Caribbean, and Mediterranean.