Phil Wade and Anthony Just attended the same physical maritime training base in Gordon’s Bay, although some years apart – Phil trained at the General Botha Merchant Marine College in the early 60s and Anthony attended the Gordon’s Bay S.A Naval Officers Training College at the same location in 1981.
More about Phil Wade
Durban-raised, Phil Wade spent two years (1960/61) at SATS General Botha College in preparation for a career at sea. By the end of the 60s he had left the merchant navy with a Chief Officer’s certificate and was working ashore in a shipping office in Durban.
He returned to sea when he was offered a trip on a yacht headed for the Caribbean. This trip marked the start of many new adventures and he has been sailing and racing yachts world-wide ever since. He is now a well-established and well known super yacht captain.
In 2011 he visited Simon’s Town School’s Lawhill Maritime Centre as part of a 50 year General Botha Old Boys class reunion. Impressed by the work of the Centre, he and members of his Old Boys Association decided to initiate the General Botha Old Boys’ Bursary Fund (GBOBBF).
The Fund currently provides a full boarding bursary for six students in Grade 10 – 12 to study at the Lawhill Maritime Centre in Simon’s Town. Members of the GBOBBF are also involved in providing mentoring support, motivational outreach activities and they meet regularly with students to assess their progress and to mentor their incorporation into the maritime industry.
More about Anthony Just
Following his initial formal maritime training at Gordon’s Bay Naval Officer Training College in 1981, Anthony entered the newly emerging international super-yachting world as yacht-captain and has managed numerous and varied yachts over the past decades.
A childhood spent on the Cape coastal shores around Kalk Bay in the 60s imparted in Anthony a great love of the sea and things maritime, which remain his great passion to this day.
In addition to commercial interests involving sailing and yachting, Anthony is also involved with the OK Prosthetics organization, an initiative set-up to provide modern, affordable and comfortable prosthetic limbs to neglected amputees in post-conflict and disaster zones around the world on a not-for-profit basis.
Anthony is also a keen and passionate guitarist-musician.
See http://marineinspirations.org/about-ok/ for more details of the OK Prosthetics amputee assistance programme.