GLADIUS Yachtcharter

Previous Yachts: M/Y Time For Us, M/Y Sovereign
Biography: Jon was born in the middle of South Africa, in a very cold and dry farm town called Bloemfontein, also known to be the capital of the Free State Province. After attending one of the top all boys schools in South Africa, his passion for soccer found him making his way to Cape Town to peruse a career as a junior pro soccer player. Playing soccer and taking time in studying Hotel Management, Jon also managed to make time for a special someone that he now proudly calls his wife. Jon and Judy are high school sweet hearts and got married last year December. Jon has been in the yachting industry for nearly 3 years and has been enjoying every moment. He loves water sports and the outdoor life. Always bringing a positive attitude to any situation makes him the ideal crew member for any boat.
Qualifications: STCW, Yacht master Offshore, Powerboat level2, Personal Water Craft license, Efficient Deckhand Certificate and a National Diploma for Hotel Management and Chef.
Waters Cruised: Baltic Sea, Mediterranean, New England, Caribbean and Bahamas
Hobbies: Soccer, Rugby, Music, Fitness, Camping, Fishing and Water sports.

Previous Yachts: M/Y Lady Allison, M/Y Tsalta, M/Y Ronin, M/Y Sovereign
Biography: Judy was born in the Kalahari, she moved with her family to George at an early age and years later again to Bloemfontein in the heart of the Freestate, where she finished high school in an all-girls school. She then moved to Stellenbosch in the Western Cape to complete her studies for hotel management. It was in the Winelands of the Cape that Judy discovered her avid love for viticulture; she finished her studies after completing an internship at the prestigious Delaire Graff Estate. After working at a few wine farms she ended up back at DGR where she worked her way up to Maître d’ at the Delaire Graff Restaurant. Judy was introduced to Yachting through a friend who had already been part of the yachting industry and was convinced that with Judy’s desire for travel, relevant skills and passion for service she would make the perfect candidate to join a boat as young new Stewardess. Judy’s Quote to live by is “If your dreams don’t scare you they’re not big enough” With this in mind, Judy arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to join her first boat in September 2012.
Qualifications: STCW, International Diploma in Hotel Management, Stewardess Introduction Course SYSA, WSET Level 2 Wine Certificate, International Service and Butler Certificate, Flower Design and Care Course, Wine and Cocktails Introduction Course, Barista Level 2 Certificate and VPDSD.

Previous Yachts: S/Y Aventura, M/Y Chosen One, M/Y Blind Date, M/Y Angiamo, M/Y Big Fish
Biography: Reneé is from Cape Town, South Africa. Her Education was within Public relations and she has also studied and gained a diploma in Culinary Arts. Reneé is a well-travelled individual spending a year in Thailand and two years in the Middle East. Prior to yachting Reneeé worked as an Air Hostess for Qatar Airways. Since then, starting in yachting in 2011, she has always been involved with the cooking aspect from cook/stew to Sous Chef and now Chef on Motor Yacht Gladius. “You only live once and if you live it right then once is enough” Reneé lives by and with her enthusiastic and upbeat personality, is always looking to the positive side of life.
Qualifications: BA Public Relations, Diploma Culinary Arts, Yoga Instructor.
Waters Cruised: Lower East Coast USA, New England, Bahamas, Caribbean, Pacific Islands, Australia & SE Asia.
Hobbies: Cooking, Travelling, Diving, snorkeling and hiking.

I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, where I had a very active life with great opportunities to embrace my passion for mechanical and electrical applications. I was fortunate enough to have been exposed to mechanical and electrical experiences very early on in my life. My father also shared a passion for all things mechanical, and made sure that I was introduced to an interesting play structure called Meccano when I started school, This gave me the ability to build any mechanized structure that my imagination could produce, and have it driven by electricity or steam. Later on my friends and I would build our own cars, as a way to get to the beach, which was an hour from where I grew up. I completed my qualification as a Printing Machinist at The School of Graphic Arts, University of Technology, Sydney. I have always loved the maritime industry and being around water craft, so I converting over to marine applications some years ago, which was a very smooth process. My love of the sea also drove me to volunteer for marine conservation with Sea Shepherd. The most memorable of this experience took me 18 months across the Pacific Ocean from Australia to Los Angeles via the Pacific Islands performing conservation efforts, plastic pollution studies and vessel preparation. Being a non profit organization, the vessels needed constant repair and imagination. I also love to SCUBA dive, snorkel, kayak and flying including aerobatics.