An engine problem destroyed by sailing holiday. What shall I do?
Nobody likes to run into problems whilst on holiday, but the
very nature of a yacht charter holiday does demand that you have
to cope with the sea - which is always unpredictable (hence
"sea" being of the feminine gender) - and a vessel, which
consists of thousands of parts and bits of equipment,
(electrics, electronics, mechanical items, sails, etc) all of
which should work together, and in unison. You can ignore all
the promises that nothing will go wrong - it might just do that.
Add to that the fact that you have chosen an idyllic setting for
your holiday - "away from it all" - for example the Ionian
Islands in Greece (the Caribbean, Turkey, or any other exotic
location would be similar), where you can not expect the natives
to be as trained and proficient as those in the Hamble. A recent
TV commercial for a Jamaican rum shows the very situation.
Let us look at an example - how you should react - how you
should carry out the necessary damage limitation steps - and
tips as to how you can smooth out the resulting aggravation.
Let's say you have chartered a yacht in the Ionian Sea, in
Greece, for a week. Everything starts off well - until the
morning of Day 3, when you are in Ithaca and THE ENGINE WILL NOT
START. After a few vain attempts at sourcing the cause of the
malfunction you call the contact number given to you for such
eventualities, and a polite individual listens to your problem
and says; "Don't worry, Mr Jones, somebody will come very soon
and look at your engine". What they will, or should, do is to
contact their man on the spot. Soon Vangelis arrives, spends a
couple of hours with his head buried in the engine compartment,
covers all your saloon cushions with oil and grease, and emerges
triumphantly holding the fuel pump which he says is the cause of
the problem. He states that he will take the pump back to his
workshop and repair it.
"How long this repair will take, Vangelis?" You ask.
"Hmm, about a couple of hours" is his reply.
Away he goes, with your pump, and as it is already noon on Day 3
of your holiday, you decide to go and have lunch and then wait
for the return of Vangelis. But, there is no sign of Vangelis,
or your pump, and much later, as the sun is going down
Vangelis's assistant arrives with the wonderful news that your
pump can not be repaired on Ithaca and that it has to go, by
ferry, to Patras, where there is a pump specialist, and that it
will be returned the next day on the ferry. Whilst this part of
the saga is unfolding your blood pressure has gone sky-high. You
have also made three more phone calls to the local contact and
two back to the UK to your yacht charter agency, with whom you
booked the charter in the first place.
WHAT YOU DID NOT KNOW was that Vangelis failed to tell you that
- since it was noon, he would first have to go for his lunch,
then his siesta, then his cup of coffee THEN he would have a
look at the pump. For him, this is normal behaviour as working
in siesta time is "out of the question" in a place like Ithaca.
After all, you asked him how long it would take to repair the
pump - NOT when he would come back. He didn't lie - it took him
the forecast two hours to find out that he couldn't fix your
pump.
So, here you are, on the morning of Day4 of your holiday, with a
vessel broken down, waiting for Vangelis to arrive. Imagine the
state of your blood pressure when noon arrives and no sign of
Vangelis. It is not until late that afternoon that a smiling
local arrives and invites you to come and join the local Saint's
Day celebrations. To work during siesta time is against local
customs BUT to work on the local Saint's Day is a crime against
humanity. Not only does Vangelis not work on a Saint's Day but
he does not think it appropriate to inform "infidels" of the
simple facts of life. For him it is a day to celebrate and
anyone who doesn't realise that should be dead.
You have, by now, made another ten phone calls to your yacht
charter agent and to the local contact, as has the charter
agency BUT Vangelis doesn't answer the phone on a Saint's Day.
The only thing you can do is to grin and bear it and join in the
festivities. Taking more blood pressure pills or blowing up the
village square will not enamour you to the locals, or get your
boat fixed - it won't help you a lot, either.
Now it is the morning of Day 5. Still the yacht is not
functioning and nobody has turned up. Now is the time to start
believing in "God's Will". At around 11 o'clock a smiling
Vangelis arrives with your pump - fully functional. He sets to
work probably realising that the look in your eye is not
indicative of your good temper and feelings towards him. Thus,
after an unusually reasonable period of time, with the saloon
cushions sporting another layer of grease and oil, with engine
testing and cleaning carried out, your boat is READY. However,
it is now 5 p.m and too late to set sail for your next port of
call, so your departure has to be put off until tomorrow morning.
The morning of Day 6 dawns - and you are ready to sail, BUT a
minor detail now crosses your mind - the only destination open
to you is back to your original departure Port or Marina as you
only had a week's holiday, your flight home departs tomorrow
morning early, and you need to be back in that port that evening
!!
What an we learn from this story? However reputable the yacht
owner/agency, however new the yacht and its equipment, however
well maintained, however careful you may be - this sort of thing
can happen to anyone, anywhere. Just change the names and places
and a similar problem can arise. Don't forget also that you can
be gale-bound in harbour for days on end.
Can you protect yourself against such a happening, and what
should you do when it arises?
The answer to the first question is NO, and the suggested
reaction to the second is: - relax (difficult though this may at
first seem); be patient; try to understand the elements of human
nature which will be displayed by all around you - your crew and
the "outsiders".
You could react like the skipper in our story and make endless
irate phone calls to everyone you can think of or, as we
suggest, you can accept the facts as they are - the problem has
arisen.
1. Try and make the best of a bad job. Explore the locale where
you are "marooned". Make short trips by water-taxi, taxi,
hire-car, on foot or by local ferries and keep your crew amused
and remaining in holiday mood, i.e. shopping, sightseeing,
swimming, enjoying special lunches and dinners, etc.
2. Remember, you will certainly be compensated by your charter
agent/owner for the lost sailing days, provided you take a few
simple steps to ensure that your claim will be met.
3. Contact your charter company immediately, PREFERABLY IN
WRITING, if it is at all possible, e.g. by fax or e-mail, and
inform them of what has happened and that you will contact them
again. Give them a telephone or fax number where you can be
contacted.
4. NEVER LEAVE THE VESSEL UNATTENDED OR OUT OF SIGHT - Vangelis
would love you to give him an excuse or "cover story" for not
having come back to the boat when promised.
5. Be understanding of Vangelis's problems - he will do his best
if you are polite and patient. Tip his assistant - that will
work wonders.
6. When all is well again and the boat is repaired - contact
your agent again, by fax or e-mail preferably, tell him that all
is well and tell him that a FORMAL CLAIM for compensation for
loss of holiday will be forthcoming.
7. When you finally return home make the formal claim, in
writing, detailing the minutes details of the saga as it
unfolded - what happened, the actions you took, the reactions of
the local agent and his employed contacts.
Make sure you have all the paperwork involved, especially the
contract documents- do not leave them on the boat! A sensible
thing to have done would have been to look back in the Ship's
Log Book (if there is any), to see if previous charterers had
run into similar problems.
If an accident was part of the cause of the problem make sure
that other people who may have been involved are brought into
the act, and statements are taken for witnesses.
We can not really advise you as to whether, or not, you will
accept any offered compensation - whether it be cash or
substitute holidays - THAT CHOICE IS YOURS. Only you know how
you and your crew felt about the happenings, whether you made
the best of a bad job at the time, whether everyone did their
best to mitigate your losses and disappointments, and whether
the offered compensation is adequate.
Whether you accept cash or a replacement holiday will probably
depend on how much holiday time you and your crew have left.
Alexander M. Vournas