Meet Jennifer Burger – Operations manager, RCYC Sailing Academy.
The first thing you notice about Jennifer Burger is her piercing blue eyes. Or perhaps for you, it’s her majestic mane of silver hair that stops you in your tracks. She has presence. Either way, this ex-radiation therapist who found her way into sailing, has a calm presence that belies her intense love for adventure sport – from sailing, to mountain biking and hiking. On the slopes, or on top of Table Mountain, is her happy space and you will often find her there with Ringo, her ten-year old Boerboel.
Jennifer discovered her love for sailing and the water in her early twenties. She achieved her SA colours in sailing in the early 2000’s and mentions the 10-day race to St Helena as one of her sailing highlights. On second thoughts, she says that juggling sailing and raising three babies were properly the biggest achievement of all.
All three of her kids have become stars in their own right with Alex (25) having just returned from the Olympics where he competed in the 49er class in Tokyo; mechanical engineer Heidi (26) serves on the World Sailing Equipment Committee, and the youngest of the three Nicola (23), is busy with her Masters in Public Health at UCT.
Jennifer believes strongly in food as medicine and you will often see her nibble on her favourite veggie dishes. Wanting to understand the role of food in her life and body, she studied Natural Medicine for three years. She manages to turn any old boring salad into a dish fit for royalty with a dash of goat’s cheese, a sprinkle of pine nuts and a drizzle of balsamic. But her slippery slope? Chocolates. Any kind. So when Jennifer says she loves you more than chocolate, you know you have her attention.
