King Of The Caribbean

- Glenneis Kriel

In 1980, John Robertson started John Robertson Yachts in a garage in Zeekoevlei, about half an hour’s drive from Cape Town. Ten years later, he and the late Jerry Caine left this company to start a new one, Robertson and Caine. Since then, Robertson and Caine has become one of the top-three catamaran builders in the world and the main supplier of catamarans in the North American and Caribbean markets.

It has launched more than 1 300 sailing catamarans and done over 8m blue water ocean miles of deliveries from South Africa. Its Leopard range has won numerous accolades, including the Cruising World Boat of the Year: Best Charter Boat in 2017, Best Full-Size Multihull Boat in 2013 and Best Cruising Multihull, Best Import Boat and Best Multihull Boat of the Year in 2012. But it has not always been smooth sailing.

What did you do before you and Jerry started Robertson and Caine?

Sailing has been part of me for as long as I can remember. My dad was a sailor and I grew up in a house not far away from the yacht club at Zeekoevlei, which is a great playground for sailors, windsurfers and water sports enthusiasts. I learnt dinghy sailing there and as I grew older, progressed to keelboat racing. After school, in addition to racing, I built a couple of boats – dinghies and Dabchicks – on the side.

My biggest breakthrough was building the 30-foot racing yacht Impact, along with one of my sailing partners and mentor, Bobby Bongers. Impact was revolutionary, signalling a shift from heavy displacement to lighter boats. We kept the boat for a year or two and won all the top regattas and even a few inland races on the Vaal Dam with it.

Why did you start your own yacht building company?