Crew Profiles

Jean van Wyngaard – Captain

Jean grew up in a small fishing town in South Africa. After completing school, he did a 6-month apprenticeship in building boats. Once he completed his apprenticeship, he got offered a contract to go play rugby in England. Having an injury changed his vision into hospitality and he went to Dubai to work for well-known hotels like Marriott International & IHG hotel groups in the food & beverage department.
Jean met his fiancé in Dubai and they decided to travel the world by working in the yachting industry.
Jean is passionate about the ocean and he strives to make the crew and guests have a memorable time and safety is where it all starts.
After realizing that his passion is with the ocean, he has aimed to progress in his career. Jean aims to complete his 300 GT ticket.
His certifications include GST, NAV & Radar, ARPA, GMDSS, Helm & Bridge Management, Advance Fire & Medical Advance Sea Survival, STCW, PDSD, Powerboat Level 2, PWC (jet-ski), Yacht Master Unlimited, Food & Hygiene Level 3, & VHF Radio.
Jean enjoys fishing, sports, kayaking, and scuba diving on his time off.

Jessica Luyt – Chef

Jessica is from Cape Town, South Africa. She originally joined yachting as a stewardess 5 years ago, where she worked on one of the world’s largest motor yachts (163m) and then became chief stew on a 38m sailing vessel. In 2021 she spent the year in culinary school, where she found her love for desserts and cake decorating.
Jessica loves to travel and discover new flavors from around the world, she is greatly inspired by Asian flavors due to a year spent in Thailand and backpacking most of Southeast Asia. Jess enjoys hiking when her feet are on land and especially enjoys cold dips in the ocean.

Kyle Cross – First Mate

Kyle is from Johannesburg, South Africa and is half Scottish. He grew up nowhere near the ocean but had family that lived on the coast, this is where his love for the ocean started at a young age. He is the mate onboard and has 18 years of experience on yachts of all shapes and sizes. One of his greatest achievements is racing across the Atlantic Ocean by sailboat.
He plans to keep building on his already vast experience, traveling the world and experiencing all that is out there to one day soon be the best captain he can be.
In his downtime, he enjoys many water sports but by far loves fishing the most. He also enjoys getting back to his roots and is an avid camper of the off-beaten track, normally never too far from water.

J-Dean van der Westhuizen – Chief Stew

Named after James Dean, J-Dean grew up Potchefstroom – an academic town 120km southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. After completing her degree in Communication Management and honors in Entrepreneurship and Marketing at The North West University, she moved to Johannesburg to start a career as a new business executive. This new career only lasted a year and a half when she realized living in one place was not meant for her.
Her heart was yearning to travel the world, meet new people, and learn about other cultures. J-Dean resigned from her big city job to pursue her dream as a stewardess with Emirate Airlines where she worked for 3 years. Meeting her now fiancé in Dubai, they decided to join the yachting industry together in 2017.
J-Dean & Jean started working on VIVIERAE II for Bob & Sandy Giles in 2019 and have not looked back since. She aims to give the best experience to guests, making them feel comfortable and at home on board whilst giving them what they want before they even know it.
J-Dean’s yachting certifications include STCW, PDSD, Powerboat Level 2, Advanced Scuba Diver, and Food & Hygiene Level 2.
J-Dean enjoys any adventures on her time off including hiking, scuba diving, team sports, arts and crafts.

Elizabeth Stander – Second Stew

Elizabeth was born in a neighboring country to South Africa, called Namibia. She moved to South Africa to start her studies as an Interior Designer in 2018. During her studies, she met Dennis and they got married when she graduated in 2020. After two years of marriage, they decided to go on the great adventure that is yachting. She has always wanted to travel, and yachting seemed like the perfect way to go. She and Dennis started their yachting careers in January 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and joined VIVIERAE II in March 2023. She loves the outdoors and learning new things. She has a passion for exercise and being healthy.

Dennis Stander – Engineer/Deckhand

Dennis grew up in Potchefstroom, South Africa far from the ocean. He studied mechanical engineering at the North West University in Potchefstroom.
Dennis is a God-fearing family man whose greatest joy is his amazing wife. He lives for adventure and enjoying beauty in life. Mechanical engineer by trade, deck/engineer by profession.
Previously Dennis worked as a project engineer in the mining and production environment. Dennis’s experience also includes overland and nature tour guiding, working at ski resorts in Colorado US, maintenance work in the UK, and a year of military training in South Africa. Dennis’s yachting certifications include STCW, PDSD, and Open Water Scuba.
Dennis’s hobbies include: scuba diving, hunting, hiking, rugby, squash, weight training, and the biggest of all is braai-ing. Dennis is always keen on learning new skills and he wants to deliver a quality guest experience. He is an open person so feel free to strike up a conversation or ask for any assistance whenever you please.