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| GUESTS COMMENTS | | Charter Questionnaire | Was the yacht clean and ready to go upon arrival? Yes it was Were all of the advertised “toys” available? Yes Did everything work throughout your trip? Yes Did the captain live up to your expectations? Was he attentive and accommodating? Far exceeded expectations! How would you describe the food and drinks? Like eating in a 5 star restaurant every night. Were you involved in planning the day’s itinerary? Every day. And when weather changed we discussed better alternatives. That was what was so amazing that the alternatives were better than we expected. What did you like most about your charter? The Captain, The Food, Snorkeling What did you like least about your charter? Seeing a couple of local islanders butchering a couple of turtles in Little Harbor on Peter Island BVI.What might be done to improve this particular yacht? (No response)
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), how would you rate The Captain? 11 The Sailing Instruction? 10
Your Overall Satisfaction? 11 Would you recommend this yacht to your friends? Definitely!Would you charter with this yacht and captain again yourselves? Yes! | | | | | We tried, but we didn | Was the yacht clean and ready to go upon arrival? Yes. He was waiting at AYH slip A-12. Taxi drive dropped us off on pier C, think he was dyslexic..
Were all of the advertised "toys" available? Yes. Boat, Dinghy, Snorkle equipment.
Did everything work throughout your trip? Yes. We tried, but didn't break anything....
Did the captain live up to your expectations? Was he attentive and accommodating?
Yes. Didn't know he was such a gourmet cook, would have been a bit more elaborate on menu.
How would you describe the food and drinks? Great! As above gourmet cooking, great painkillers. Even had excellent bourbon.
Were you involved in planning the day's itinerary? Yes. Each day we discussed where we could reasonably sail.
What did you like most about your charter? The trip to Anegada. This was a highpoint for me. Lobster dinner, walks along coral sand beach.
What did you like least about your charter? Tina would have liked more water for showers...
What might be done to improve this particular yacht? More water storage??
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), how would you rate:
The Captain? 10 Your Overall Satisfaction? 10
Please share any additional comments about this yacht and crew? This boat is very close to my current boat, a Gozzard 36. It was invaluable to discuss and learn about sailing with full keel and cutter rig.
Would you recommend this yacht and crew to your friends? Yes, especially those wishing to learn to sail.
Would you charter this yacht and crew again yourselves? Not sure, would like to feel comfortable with a bareboat charter.
If not, what would you look for in your next charter that would be different? Bareboat charter with another couple to share the duties and the fun.
If you stayed ashore before or after your charter, please state where, and how you enjoyed your stay: We stayed at Long Bay Beach Resort 3 days after the end of the charter. Stayed in a "Cabana", rented a car. Really great location, 10 steps from the beach, excellent waves (but rocks 20 feet off shore, need reef shoes), swim-up bar (way to go..). First night they had a marriage ceremony on the beach infront of our cabana....we didn't mind at all (smile). Drove to Road Town, just missed the Christmas on Main Street by 1 day, wished the staff had told us. Drove to Cane Garden, Brewers Bay (best), and shopped in the West End. Took ferry back to Charlotte Amalie (weird, two ferry companies jumped on us as we walked in, Native Son and Smiths both had 10:30 departures..).
How did Sailing Vacations do? Excellent...and you have a great reputation with Captain David.
Was the boat what you expected? Yes.
Were our descriptions of yacht and crew fair and accurate? What could we have changed or emphasized more? Gourmet cook was unexpected...I think.
How could we improved our service to you. Were any questions left unanswered, or was any information left out that would have been helpful to you? Perhaps letting customers going to the BVI's know that you will be sending a copy of the cruising guide...now I have two copies.
Will you charter again?
Definitely Probably X Possibly Probably Not
May we use you as a reference for this yacht and crew? Yes
May we use you as a reference for our service? Yes | | | | | It was a fine charter | We are back, it was a fine charter. In my Guest Log, Kim wrote: " Dear David, Thank you so mich for making us do our first step on blue see at you boat. It has been wonderfull and quickly expanded or knowledge about sailing. You have been teaching us in a very calm, professional and polite way - we enjoyde every minute of it! All the best to you and Glory from ....Kim and Berit." His spelling, not mine! :-)
Because of yet another day of light air, they'd mentioned last night they might want to get to the dock early and maybe taxi downtown, see the fort or whatever. At breakfast, that is what they decided, so at 10 we were here, I had them a taxi, and off they went instead of leaving here for 11:15. They were very generous and quite nice to have aboard.
Again, thanks so much for the charter.......David | | | | | A Sailing School Story | David,
We have not kept in touch with you recently and we offer a story. There
once was a couple 50ish or so who came walking done the dock and were not sure what was proper on a boat but this fine Captain welcomed them aboard his boat/home.
They were gently instructed in the ways of sailing not once but several
times until they felt comfortable aboard his home. They returned several times for stays of one to two weeks and after some years of instruction decided this was the life for them. The evolution might be shocking considering the guy never sailed until he was 50.
They bought a boat and began to sail it and then decided it would be soooo
kool to live aboard. While living aboard they found an opportunity to train
with the US Navy. The job to be done after the training would be taking eight midshipmen with another graybeard in a 44' sail boat from Annapolis, MD. to Newport, RI. and back again. Specifically a week on the water as a team then five days sail there with a weekend break and five days back. A "piece of cake" anybody could do it! Well the aforementioned guy made it through the classroom stuff, Navigation the Navy way, CPR, Rules of the Road Exams. Then it was on to sailing with qualifying on Colgate 26s before moving up to the 44s. The good news is he made the cut on the all the exams and sailing the Colgate.
Next week he could be terrorizing the bay on a Navy 44 built to withstand
the rigors of midshipmen. Looking at the specs they could be talking about a CSY with rod rigging. Who could have guessed you are responsible for a Kansas farm boy to be teaching Navy midshipmen (CSNTS) Command, Seamanship, Navigation, Training Squadron. Thanks! D&J | | | | | Musings of old guests | While in Annapolis, we will be sailing the Bay for a week, and wind up at the Boat Show, meeting up with Paul and Kathy Hotz, one of my first charters, and also the couple written about in Cruising World's first article about me in Feb., '99. I saw them this summer, as I usually do when they bareboat here, in North Sound, Virgin Gorda, just before they were leaving to cross the Anegada Passage for St. Maarten, their first off-shore and overnight passage. We had no time to meet then, so are planning a rendezvous now.
I've been email corresponding with Jeff Whobrey, a late season guest this year, on the advisability of a CSY 37 purchase he was interested in, as a direct result of his charter with me. He WAS living on his 48' houseboat in Louisville, but he got "bit" with a better way. As we speak, the closing should have occured.
I was surprised this past season, getting ready for a charter again at AYH, to hear a woman call out to me on the dock, "excuse me, aren't you David?" As I was going aboard, she was studying 'ole Fatso,....the boat!!!..not me!!... but then a lot of people do and comment upon her. "Yes" "Do you remember me?" Oh my, yes, Susan Duncan! You and Andrew were with me about 5 years ago. Are you here on vacation?" "Well, yes, as such. We are sailing on our own boat on the end of the dock there, the Island Packet 32. After we left you, we started taking every other course we could around the Charleston area, and Andrew and two friends sailed the IP here last spring. Because of the start you gave us, making sure we LIKED this, we have realized a dream!" I had goosebumps.
And in addition this past season, I also saw Peter and Patti Giese, on their 5th successful VI bareboating experience. We met, again, in North Sound, and I invited them aboard for drinks and dinner in Robin Bay along with my then current charter guests, a man who is an opera singer with the Met, in NYC, along with his Internet-met wife. My first opera singer....., who had similar aspirations of bareboating down the road. I also met, Jule Frank, who was chartering with friends for 12 days. We had been corresponding for some time about anchorages, customs and various things....but these days she is CAPT. Jule Frank. A beautiful 46 year old woman, who has been a professional tennis player, a Playboy Bunny, an attorney, a film-script editor, and now, a Captain! I watched her con her 48' ship into Maho Bay with her 5 guests, calm and sure as could be like she'd already done it a thousand times, early in the opera singer's trip, and had a lump in my throat. Jim Whyte called me for advice, and is back from the Bahamas after two years of single handing his Cape Dory 28 there from Wisconsin....thinking about the Virgins. Jim and Cynthia Williams are back in Va. after a years run down thru the Caribbean, including the Virgins and Trinidad and back on their 38' ketch. Bob and Dee McCorkle are living aboard in Fla., after a trip from Detroit on their Valient 39. Joe and Sharon Kratz are about to leave Kemah, TX on their 33' sloop in retirement. Sharon just published her first cruising book about friends and their around-the-world passage...of which I have a personalized autograph copy aboard. :-)) And Dan Lunsford is now the instructor for the Naval Academy, teaching the Assistant Officers In Charge the course for their duties in the Academy's offshore sailing/leadership program. In this program, 10 Midshipmen/women are aboard a Navy Luders 44, sailing from Annapolis to Newport, off-shore, and back. The OIC's....sometimes called "the greybeard's".... job is to be there to make sure the Middies, although supposedly checked out as sailors, don't get into any trouble on the trip, be it sailing, seamanship, navigation or just plain uppity-ness. As Dan says, "Not bad for a Kansas farm boy who'd never been on a boat till he was 50. I passed every qualifying exam they threw at me, and they are very interested in who MY instructor was!" Dan's wife Jaye will be taking the Assistant OIC course next spring, and it is they I will be with in Annapolis, on their CSY 33, their home.
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