St Francis Marine enjoys a core leadership of people who are passionate about the company and it’s products. Many of the management team have been with the company for well over 20 years. Each department head is an expert in their field, be it carpentry, composites, or electrical systems.
Cal Tomlinson - CEO and General Manager
Cal is a highly experienced marine professional whose career spans yacht construction, project and production management, and professional sailing at the highest level.
He has held senior positions at leading shipyards, both in South Africa and Europe. Cal holds Yacht Master Ocean qualifications with both SAS and the RYA, as well as Deck Officer certification with the South African Maritime Safety Authority. He studied marine electrical engineering and later yacht design at Westlawn Institute (USA).
In his spare time, he competes in dinghies at national level and is involved in yacht racing administration.
Morton Beckley - CFO
Morton is responsible for financial negotiations, costing and the day to day finances.
Morton is a qualified engineer with a BSc (Eng.) from the University of Cape Town. After working in both the construction and consulting environments he founded IT companies that produce information programs for both the aviation and engineering industries. He is a keen sailor and has crewed on many St Francis delivery trips along the South African coast.
Gavin Botha - Stores and Procurements
Gavin is a dedicated member of the St Francis Marine team with more than 24 years of experience.
Gavin plays a key and very important role in ensuring that materials, and components are sourced efficiently. His extensive industry experience ensures the smooth operation of the company's production processes.
He is a sports fanatic who spends his weekends supporting his son’s rugby achievements (from the sidelines) and supporting our local and national rugby teams.
Janice Claasens - Administration
Janice deals with many facets of St Francis Marine of a daily basis. She deals with suppliers, clients, staff and organises the directors. She is the first port of call for any enquiries. When she is not busy with St Francis Marine’s day to day business, she can be found tuna fishing or for anything else biting on the occasion.
Hans Vermaak
Hans grew up on a farm nearby. He has worked at St Francis Marine since 2001. He is responsible for all the mechanical outfitting of St Francis Marine boats. His skills range from plumbing, engineering, composites – anything that needs a plan to be made.
Anton Swanepoel - Factory and Production Manager
Anton originally trained as a carpenter and was hired in 1999 to build the molds for the original SFM 48 which after a while morphed into the 50. After 27 years of working through the ranks, there is little he does not know about the boats and the factory processes. He is the de-facto personnel manager and is probably the busiest guy in the company. When not building boats, he is a keen 4x4 driver, regularly undertaking challenging trips into the nearby mountains
Du Toit Yacht Design
In 2021, St Francis Marine appointed the Du Toit Yacht Design office to modernise the styling and naval architecture of the original Angelo Lavranos design. Anton du Toit’s office has been behind the modern surge in South African catamaran design – both sail and power. Due to Anton’s association and training at the Lavranos office in his early career, he was an easy choice for the design update.