I overheard this conversation on my VHF radio about ten years ago. It was between a bareboat charter and the charter company. The boat was calling the company to ask that more anchors be sent to them in the San Juan Islands. Charter Company, "Whats the problem, you have a primary, secondary and lunch hook anchor. Why do you need more anchors?" Charter Boat, "Well we've been out for two nights and today we stopped for lunch so we've used up all our anchors. You don't need to send more rope though, we cut it as close to the water as we could so we have plenty of it left." The charter companys' response can't be submitted on the internet but I'll bet they lost their VHF license. Tim King
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Same boat
Ten years ago we were at West Sound in the San Juans. There was a family who had chartered a Catalina 42. The lady at the marinia was asking him if he had gotten to the Dr. ok as someone had tripped and cut their head. He said yes they had found a dr. and that they now had power on the boat. She asked how that could be as there was no ac power on their dock. Seems he had gotten in the dingy and went to the dock across from them and hooked up to a power box. Funny thing was that he had the power cord going across the opening to the marinia. The next boat that came in would of ran over the cord. He didn't think he had done anything wrong. We stayed away from them the rest of our trip.
Ten years ago we were at West Sound in the San Juans. There was a family who had chartered a Catalina 42. The lady at the marinia was asking him if he had gotten to the Dr. ok as someone had tripped and cut their head. He said yes they had found a dr. and that they now had power on the boat. She asked how that could be as there was no ac power on their dock. Seems he had gotten in the dingy and went to the dock across from them and hooked up to a power box. Funny thing was that he had the power cord going across the opening to the marinia. The next boat that came in would of ran over the cord. He didn't think he had done anything wrong. We stayed away from them the rest of our trip.
Chartering Experiences
From the sounds of these stories, any moron can charter a boat. I thought you had to have a bareboat certification before these companies would let you take a boat out? Am I way off base? What are the qualifications required of chartering companies?
From the sounds of these stories, any moron can charter a boat. I thought you had to have a bareboat certification before these companies would let you take a boat out? Am I way off base? What are the qualifications required of chartering companies?
Anchoring off Jost Van Dyke
A few years ago I was with a group in the BVI. Late, after most places in the anchorage had been filled, in comes a boat from one of the cheap charter companies. (and the answer is, where do Moorings Charter boats go when they get old?) First they tried to anchor while heading down wind. They had a few problems with this! -- swung around (narrowly missing our boat) and drifted back...way back with the anchor rode hanging straight down off the bow. They kept trying to anchor, and kept narrowly missing other boats. (At least they got the point of heading upwind). They kept moving closer to shore with each attempt and finally (in shallow enough water), the anchor caught bottom and held. Everyone in the anchorage (by this time everyone was on deck, waiting for a disaster) took a collective sigh of relief. How many of you have your boats on charter?
A few years ago I was with a group in the BVI. Late, after most places in the anchorage had been filled, in comes a boat from one of the cheap charter companies. (and the answer is, where do Moorings Charter boats go when they get old?) First they tried to anchor while heading down wind. They had a few problems with this! -- swung around (narrowly missing our boat) and drifted back...way back with the anchor rode hanging straight down off the bow. They kept trying to anchor, and kept narrowly missing other boats. (At least they got the point of heading upwind). They kept moving closer to shore with each attempt and finally (in shallow enough water), the anchor caught bottom and held. Everyone in the anchorage (by this time everyone was on deck, waiting for a disaster) took a collective sigh of relief. How many of you have your boats on charter?
Bass Ho!
My all-time favorite came from these very archives... one of our owners was anchored in a quiet cove on an Ohio lake on weekend, and along came a bass fisherman in one of the $50k bass boats. Totally decked out. He motored into the cove, cut the engine and walked forward. Pulled his _chromed_ Danforth out of the anchor well, attached to his _chromed_ anchor chain. The bass fisherman gave the anchor mighty heave and watched the Danforth sail through air, followed closely by the chain, the rode... and the bitter end. Our owner reported that he stood on the bow a long time, hands on hips, looking at the spot where the ground tackle disappeared, then motored off.
My all-time favorite came from these very archives... one of our owners was anchored in a quiet cove on an Ohio lake on weekend, and along came a bass fisherman in one of the $50k bass boats. Totally decked out. He motored into the cove, cut the engine and walked forward. Pulled his _chromed_ Danforth out of the anchor well, attached to his _chromed_ anchor chain. The bass fisherman gave the anchor mighty heave and watched the Danforth sail through air, followed closely by the chain, the rode... and the bitter end. Our owner reported that he stood on the bow a long time, hands on hips, looking at the spot where the ground tackle disappeared, then motored off.
Chartering your boat is not good!
I charted my H40 through a chartering company in the Pacific Northwest. They said they checked everyone's background before they let people charter my boat. The first person put the boat on the rocks and wrecked the rudder. We had to air feight a new rudder from Hunter. Then it got worse. One couple took the wrench that was for the shaft and broke all the knobs on the stove. They didn't know that you had to push them in to turn them. They thought "..they were rusty." Another couple cut my dinghy line from fifty feet to 10 feet because it was getting in the way. The worst was two couples who called less than 8 hours after taking the boat out and told us that the heads were broken. When I got there, the heads were all filled up, almost overflowing. When I had pumped them both dry ((they were working)), they said they didn't know they had to pump--didn't they work like at home? These were people who said they had lots of experience on boats. Right.... After five years, I got out of chartering and sold the boat. It held lots of bad memories.
I charted my H40 through a chartering company in the Pacific Northwest. They said they checked everyone's background before they let people charter my boat. The first person put the boat on the rocks and wrecked the rudder. We had to air feight a new rudder from Hunter. Then it got worse. One couple took the wrench that was for the shaft and broke all the knobs on the stove. They didn't know that you had to push them in to turn them. They thought "..they were rusty." Another couple cut my dinghy line from fifty feet to 10 feet because it was getting in the way. The worst was two couples who called less than 8 hours after taking the boat out and told us that the heads were broken. When I got there, the heads were all filled up, almost overflowing. When I had pumped them both dry ((they were working)), they said they didn't know they had to pump--didn't they work like at home? These were people who said they had lots of experience on boats. Right.... After five years, I got out of chartering and sold the boat. It held lots of bad memories.
Rob's best anchoring story
Rob and a couple of friends had spent the night on his C30 anchored on the river. One of his friends had to get to work in the morning so they all dinghied to the marina (2-3 miles away). On their way back, they noticed that River Patrol had pulled over a sailboat. They thought that was pretty odd so swung a little closer to have a look. As they approached, Rob's friend said "Hey, that's a Catalina!" A few seconds later "Wow, it sure looks like your boat." A few seconds later Rob realizes "That IS my boat!!" Apparently (duh!), his anchor had drug out into the channel and then, luckily, been wrapped around a piling. The River Cop kept saying "You can't tie to a navigational aid! You can't tie to a navigational aid!" It took about 5 minutes of explaining for the guy to realize what had actually happened. Unfortunately, the chain and rode had wrapped so tightly that they had to cut it free. They came back later with a pro but no luck. Goodbye Danforth, hello Bruce! LaDonna
Rob and a couple of friends had spent the night on his C30 anchored on the river. One of his friends had to get to work in the morning so they all dinghied to the marina (2-3 miles away). On their way back, they noticed that River Patrol had pulled over a sailboat. They thought that was pretty odd so swung a little closer to have a look. As they approached, Rob's friend said "Hey, that's a Catalina!" A few seconds later "Wow, it sure looks like your boat." A few seconds later Rob realizes "That IS my boat!!" Apparently (duh!), his anchor had drug out into the channel and then, luckily, been wrapped around a piling. The River Cop kept saying "You can't tie to a navigational aid! You can't tie to a navigational aid!" It took about 5 minutes of explaining for the guy to realize what had actually happened. Unfortunately, the chain and rode had wrapped so tightly that they had to cut it free. They came back later with a pro but no luck. Goodbye Danforth, hello Bruce! LaDonna
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