I pride myself on my work ethic, management skills and setting a good example. I offer a proven ability to perform under difficult situations & circumstances based on the experience gained from busy charter and private yachts I have served on. Throughout my career, I have accumulated a thorough knowledge of fine yacht operation to the highest level of standards, backed by excellent references.
I started my career on the ocean at a young age on my uncles commercial fishing vessel based out of the west coast of South Africa. Here I learned to always respect the ocean and in turn, it made me realize we should only take what we need.
I left the commercial fishing sector and went to London where I worked in the hospitality industry for four years at one of London’s most respected and well-known catering companies. I then made the move to yachts in 2007 after briefly attempting a short stint on offshore oil rigs. The safety training was STCW based so the jump was easy. I became a yacht Captain in April 2017 and have since worked as a Master on 57m Swiftship Tacanuya, 40m Heesen G-Force and have been the Captain on board Eternity since September 2017.
I completed a full refit in 2018 that included, but not limited to: full paint job, full interior refit, AV/IT refit, rebuild of 3 main generators, one emergency generator, both main engines, full refit on stabilizers, tank works, purchase of new tenders & toys. This was completed in an aggressive timeline of 7 months and was nominated for a refit of the year. We attended the 2018 FLIBS and Antigua charter show where Eternity won the best chef, best tablescape & best cocktail doing a full clean up of the prize allocation. We then completed 11 weeks of successful charters in the 2019 season. Eternity was put back into the shipyard in August 2019 to do a full rebuild of the galley, completed AVIT upgrades and general maintenance to ensure a well-maintained vessel to upkeep during a busy upcoming season.
The 2019 charter season kicked off great and we completed three weeks, but after Covid became a worldwide concern, the 2020 season got cancelled. This was my most challenging time onboard, keeping the crew motivated and making the owners understand and believe that crew is required to maintain Eternity to its known glory. I pride myself on having kept 60% of my crew since March 2018 to date and am so grateful for the crew sticking with the Eternity program during this difficult time. As the world came to a stop, we decided to take Eternity to Rybovich earlier in June 2020 and start our planned full Power Management System Upgrade together with an Alarm Monitoring & Control System Upgrade. This included all new wiring & cabling, new Main & Emergency Switchboards, software upgrade, basically doing open brain surgery! This refit proved once again that crew with onboard experience is much more cost effective for owners in the long run.
The AMCS refit did take longer than anticipated as flying in qualified OEM technicians from abroad was a challenging task in itself, but the teams took on some heavy workload and since Eternity got launched again on April 6, 2021, she has already completed 5 weeks of charters together with hosting corporate events and day cruises. The rest of 2021 is pretty booked already and a busy season lies ahead.
My previous experience on the ocean during commercial fishing and then hospitality in London has refined me as a unique Captain that is now well versed in all aspects of fine yacht operation. I am a big foodie and have travelled the world to eat at some of the best restaurants the globe has to offer. I get involved during service times on board to ensure that the highest-level product is being delivered to the client. I am also an avid wine collector that boasts a cellar of 3000 plus bottles and I try and visit wineries during my off time whenever I am not in the ocean surfing, fishing or diving.
Eternity’s program is also unique in the sense that we deal with charters and clients only. Our owners use the boat as a marketing tool for the mega-resort in the Bahamas, Baha Mar. We entertain their highest profile clients and charter it out when possible and to accomplish this successfully one requires a crew that has drive, focus and exceptional organization skills.
The above accomplishments would not have been possible without my crew. They have proven to be trustworthy, hardworking & loyal to the Eternity program. To add to this, we have amazing owners that understand what it takes to upkeep a vessel of this calibre and they make life a pleasure for us all to be on board.
