As reported in South Africa's Cape Business News on July 24: R200m (US$28-milliion) export order for Cape Town's Robertson and Caine Cape Town's premier boat-builder Robertson and Caine has signed an export contract with leading UK-based global charter company, First Choice Marine, for an order of R200 million for sailing catamarans to be delivered in 2007. This cements its position as South Africa's leading exporter of luxury yachts. Speaking at last month's launch of the latest design, the Leopard 46, Lex Raas, the president and chief executive of First Choice Marine, holding company of charter boat firms The Moorings and Sunsail, said the order was the product of a 10-year relationship between the Cape boatbuilder and The Moorings, which had seen eight different models of the luxury Leopard marque going to The Moorings sailing destinations around the world, and with the catamarans winning five international awards. Raas says that the Leopard 46, designed in collaboration between Robertson and Caine's design team and leading US naval architects Morrelli and Melvin, designers of the record-breaking multihull Playstation, embodied "a host of innovative ideas." Raas says Robertson and Caine will also become the official supplier to rival charter company, Sunsail. The contracts follow on the heels of a surprise announcement earlier this year when the leading British leisure industry group, First Choice PLC, already the owners of SunSail, purchased the holding company of The Moorings, Grand Expeditions. Thereafter the chairman of First Choice PLC, visited South Africa and was impressed with the facilities of Robertson and Caine. Not long after, Raas was appointed the chief executive officer of the complete marine division, creating a global leisure group covering five different branded groups. (The Moorings, Sunsail Yachts, Signature Crewed Yachts, Footloose, NauticBlue and Platinum Crewed Yachts). "Had anyone said eight months ago that The Moorings and Sunsail would be part of the same team, it would have sounded impossible. Today, from a global point of view, these exciting brands have 72 bases worldwide, and a fleet of 1 800 boats, and 300 000 customers per year. With catamarans making up a third of the fleet, this mean that nearly 100 000 people worldwide are holidaying on Robertson and Caine boats every year." Independently of the R200 million sailing catamaran order, the Cape boatbuilder is working on a 47-foot power catamaran for the NauticBlue Group, also in the First Choice Marine stable, and the first luxury powerboat is planned to be launched early 2007. For the full report, go http://www.cbn.co.za/index.php?Page=daily&id=1585 --Georgs -- Georgs Kolesnikovs Power Catamaran World http://www.powercatamaranworld.com