# How to skipper your own charter yacht



## SailBeat (May 30, 2014)

Enjoy!

EDIT: Removed Link that is in violation of forum rules. Jeff_H Sailnet Moderator.


----------



## denverd0n (Jun 20, 2008)

Started reading your article, but stopped when the spelling and grammar errors got to be too annoying. What I will tolerate in private conversation, or even on a forum like this, I will not tolerate from a commercial website. If you wish to do business with me then your sales pitch must not distract me with grammatical errors.

If English is not your native language, as I suspect it is not, then I would suggest that you should get some translation assistance.

Good luck to you.


----------



## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

...a bit harsh man!

Easily readable and obviously a euro take on the subject.

I too get frustrated when there are spelling errors say in newspapers and/or books, but I dont see the point here really.



I would love to see what you thought was so grammatically wrong as to prevent you from reading further...

anywhoo...jajaja

peace


----------



## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

I may add however, I was confused by the title of the thread...

To me it reads how to become a charter yacht skipper of your own boat!

anyways,

christian


----------



## denverd0n (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm not going to itemize all of the errors. It's not like I suggested that no one else should read the articles, because of the grammatical errors. I just said that they were too distracting for me (though I doubt that I am completely alone in that).

I was simply trying to offer some helpful advice to the proprietor of that website. I think his business will do better if he (or she) spends the money for a proper translation. But in the end, it is entirely his choice.


----------



## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

I agree with denver regarding the spelling and grammar. If your goal is to produce a polished piece, and pass yourself as knowledgeable, you can plan to lose a portion of your audience if you can't spell. 

As soon as I got to "yacht's", when your intent was yachts plural (yachts), I was done with you.


----------



## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

man when you speak other languages you cant be perfect all the time...

its not like there is only one language out there

we should be more understanding

I actually found a lot of the info helpful, and also I didnt know about some of those programs he was talking about...

DESPITE the huge grammatical errors 

man


----------



## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

The information is incomplete.

IYT also offers the ICC - and you can get in North America.


----------



## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

I can see where Christian is coming from but have to agree with Denver and Siamese that the grammar and punctuation is simply awful. 

It is all very well to make allowances for someone for whom English is not their first language but reality is if you want to market yourself to an English speaking audience then you need to get it right.


----------



## denverd0n (Jun 20, 2008)

tdw said:


> ...reality is if you want to market yourself to an English speaking audience then you need to get it right.


Exactly. As I said, casual conversation, or a forum like this, is a whole different matter. In those cases I am ready, willing, and able to make a great deal of allowance for the language barriers that inevitably come up, given the global nature of the internet. People who will not make those kind of allowances are just being arrogant and intolerant.

But when you are trying to sell your product it is completely different. Then you need to be willing to spend the money for a proper translation to whatever language your target audience may be. That applies to everyone. I have absolutely no tolerance for American businesses that think the whole world should be speaking English, or who think that someone with a high-school education in Spanish is good enough to do their translations for both the Spain and South American markets.

If you are trying to sell to people in Brazil, as an example, then you had darned well better get your message properly translated into the Brazilian dialect of Portuguese, most preferably by someone who is from Brazil. You cannot just assume that a translation that is good enough for Portugal must be good enough for Brazil. If you are too cheap and/or lazy to do that, then your business will probably fail, and it will be entirely your own fault.

And with that I will get off of my soap-box. I apologize to SailBeat for getting this thread off track. Nonetheless, SailBeat, if you want your business to succeed, I think you need to take some of the advice here to heart. Good luck.


----------



## christian.hess (Sep 18, 2013)

well I can agree with that...I guess we are saying similar things...

btw youd be surprised how badly big corporations, global ones etc do with translations and marketing down here...

its impressive how bad they are sometimes yet, they have highly "qualified" people doing the work.

reading between the lines or guessing what the hell they mean sometimes is a matter of life...here and in many places around the world.

anywhoo

back to euro chartering


----------



## green sailor (Jan 2, 2015)

I have not read the article, I came across this thread searching for grammatical correctness for a client's brochure on a particular usage: "charter yacht" or "charter-yacht"? However, as grammar is the crux of this discussion, I will toss in my 2-cents worth and will have to agree with Denver and Siamese. 

The main business objectives, I suspect, for your article/s, are that you want:
1) people to CHOOSE your business with which to spend their hard-earned money AND limited leisure-time.
2) build your audience's/s' trust in you and your brand (become a trusted source of information: the "go-to" guy, as it were.)
3) attract the "right" audience/s.

Commercially, bad grammar, bad spelling, incomplete information—any or all of the above—will have a negative, psychological affect on the reader, whether they are consciously aware of it or not. 

For instance, psychological translations (consciously or sub-consciously):

1) It is difficult to read = plants a seed: doing business with them may be difficult 
(emotion triggered: annoyance, irritation => "to heck with this, I'll find another provider")
2) Bad grammar/spelling: refer to Denver's quote: "If you are too cheap and/or lazy to do that" = is this business too cheap or lazy to perform proper maintenance/service? Will the boat be safe?
(emotion triggered: fear => is my and my family's/friends' safety at risk?)
3) Bad grammar/spelling (in any language) = careless / sloppy
(emotion triggered: doubt, lack of trust => are they a slipshod organization? Can I trust them?)
4) other examples can be applied, but you should get the gist by now.

Your organization may be exactly NONE of these things. Possibly, the polar opposite. You may be a top-of-the-line, progressively managed company with product and services unparalleled in the industry. However, as thinking AND emotional beings, emotions ARE triggered, irregardless, and then we think about them. 

If your org is chartering and/or selling yachts, you are more than likely talking to educated, mid- to upper-management DECISION-MAKERS, who must make sound business decisions, daily, based on given and presented information. To this, I refer you back to points 1 through 4 above and the many valid points the others have made.

Taking points 1-4 into consideration, the audience you may end up attracting are those that don't care about slipshod, do not take safety into consideration, "the party is the point" kind of people. Consider how these people will treat your staff and/or product. Especially consider it, if you are managing other peoples boats or your own. 

In reading the tone of their comments, I don't get the feeling anyone is trying to antagonize you and/or your organization. I do, however, get the feeling they are truly trying to offer you useful information. In what may be more familiar lingo, "Dude, you really need to fix your sh*t, man."

Another thing, especially on public forums, a defensive response to constructive criticism (and most especially, should you receive a complaint), underscores prospective clients' emotional triggers, think: doubt, fear, annoyance. Here, snap decisions will most likely be more easily made. 

Note that other readers will want to see—to KNOW—how you/your organization handles the problem. Specifically because, should they CHOOSE to do business with you and should they encounter a problem with your product, such as, the boat's toilet doesn't flush properly or the stereo doesn't work, your response on these forums are ALL of the example by which people have to judge you and your organization. And judge you, they will, NO doubt! It is, after all, their hard-earned cash (or credit) and very limited time they will entrust with you.

As ol' Willie said, "Me thinks doth protest too much." In the world of marketing, we say, "acknowledge the problem and offer a solution," THEN I'll trust you with my "sh*t."

Having said all of that, if my client is managing other people's boats for charter, is it:

Charter-Yacht Management Services or 
Charter Yacht Management Services ?


----------



## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

It's just Yacht Management Services. The brochure can describe experience or specialization in managing boats that are chartered to others.


----------



## green sailor (Jan 2, 2015)

Thanks, Minewaska. Much appreciated.


----------

