# Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''s - Strike Two!



## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

We just returned from the BVI''s having chartered a 42'' Cat from Sunsail. We had chartered from Sunsail St. Martins and had a massive equipment failure which Sunsail was unable to repair. We lost two days of sailing as a result. We decided to give them another chance and felt comfortable doing so as they had just aquired SunYacht Charters, a well-managed outfit in Maya Cove. This time we lost a total of 3 days sailing due to multiple problems/failures of the boat''s equipment. Sunsail sent us out with the wrong size gypsy for the windlass (extremely hazardous). The starboard engine routinely failed even after the techs "fixed" the problem. Neither fuel nor water guages worked. Engine stop cable broke after the office had closed for the day and our attempts to contact the base went unanswered and we had to kill the engine with the fuel shutoff valve. To their credit, the Sunsail people in Tortola were all extremely helpful and courteous. However, Sunsail management, in response to our request to be reimbursed for our lost time, declined to compensate us. I would urge anyone considering Sunsail to look at other charter companies. Very, very frustrating and a wasted vacation! Please feel free to contact me with any questions concerning this outfit.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Pay the money and charter one of the Moorings top of the line boats. End of problem.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I am so sorry you had problems on what is a very expensive vacation. I have friends who have worked for Sunsail and have basically been, well, screwed. These include Americans, Englanders, Swedish, and islanders. So, please know that the great people you found on Tortola are common to the great island, but have no say in what Sunsail does.

I am so happy you are saying something, and please do as the other person posting says and try Moorings. Their base on Tortola is run by an efficient group of people who always have people on hand to help with mechanical problems. I do not work for Moorings, nor did I ever, but I did deliver a lot of boats to their Moorings base and to their St. Lucia base.

I''ve even delivered boats out of commission and they have gotten me back to the states, from Tortola and from the Bahamas.

In any case, from my point of view (being around many, many charterers) everyone has been happy.

I hope your next visit to the BVI is a great one, and I hope you look into Moorings. Since it seems you can afford it, please take your vacation dollars to Tortola and get your money''s worth, worry-free.

Fair Winds,
Mary Beth


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I had a less than satisfactory Sunsail charter out of Tortola. I placed two calls to their US office upon my return. Both times I was told that a manager would return my call (although one person did say it might take some time).

Well, it''s now six months later and I have yet to hear from them.

Sunsail''s management has made their position on customer satisfaction crystal clear to me.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Charter from Horizon Yacht Charters...rated the "Best" with sailonline.com
They are VERY picky about their boats. We know. We are one of their boat owners.
Pat


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I just looked at that sight and VIP is rated number one??? Must say we have a boat at VIP and are extremely happy with the way we and the guests on our boat are treated. Have not talked to one charter who has not been pleased with their experience. Things don''t always go well but it''s how you deal with it that counts.

John_/)_/)_/)


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I chartered from Trade Wind Yachts and was VERY pleased. The staff was great, the base in Fat Hogs Bay is not as congested as Road Town, and they were very helpful with the only problem we had, bad gas in the dinghy outboard (they even compensated us for it by not charging for the diesel fuel we used). I would charter with them again in a heartbeat and they are less expensive than Moorings.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I have had 4 different charters with Sunsail at BVI, St. Martin, St. Vincent and never had a problem. This was 5 years ago so I guess things change. I chartered with tradewinds once because I want a specific type of boat to charter before deciding to buy. The boat worked fine put the base manager was an idiot.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I have chartered with Sunsail out of St Vincent, and St Martin. I got good rates, and everything on our boat(s) (we took two last year) worked. We charter the 50'' monohulls. I guess we are lucky. Both times we did find some issues on check in, but Sunsail repaired and we were off and running. Little things like one head did not seem to pump well, one dinghy needed some air...All in all, I am happy, and will continue to use them, as I get a fair discount for multiple years of charter.

MF


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## crblair

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

shanbill,

I used Footloose in Tortola this year (twice). Great outfit! The charter the 3 year old boats that come off-charter from Moorings and charter them for 2-3 more years. Only ding was the dinghy - the old hardshell type. They told me they''d hav3e a newe fleet of inflatables by the end of this year.

Chris Blair


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## r-thom

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

We have chartered twice in BVI. First from Conch in 2000 and then Trade Winds last year. Although the monohull at Conch had been around the block a few times,it was clean, wanted nothing and ready to go when we got there. The staff was terific and catered to our every need. Third day out the throttle cable broke while docking at Virgin Gorda (5:30 p.m.) One phone call to the base in Tortola and it was fixed by 10:30 next morning (Sunday). We would have gone back to Conch but were unable to get the catamaran we wanted to try, so we went to Trade Winds in Fat Hogs Bay. We had arranged to stay onboard the first night and arrived at 5 pm. They were installing a new genset on the boat and worked on it till 8:30 that night. We had to sit around the marina and wait till they finished to ''move'' onboard. A bit of an inconvenience but not to hard to take considering the surroundings. The job was finished by 10 am next morning. On our 9 day cruise, I had a machanic out to the boat twice and had to take it back to Fat Hogs bay once becasue their service boat was ''out of commision''. Engine, genset, battery problems were the most common. At anchor in Great Harbour, I came back to the boat to find the starboard engine had come completly off its'' mount (outboard engine located in an inclosed well). It was just hanging there by the control cables. Easy to fix but should never have happened in my view, there was no security chain between the hull clamps to prevent them from backing off. At the end of our trip, the base manager said he wanted to ''make it right'' and we arrived at a mutually agreed upon settlement of 3 days lost. I had the option of taking the money in hand or a voucher good for 2 years at any Trade Winds location. What can I say, I took the voucher.
Ron 
Victoria BC Can


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

This is a follow-up message regarding my original post regarding our Sunsail experience. Sunsail has, in fact, compensated us for FOUR FULL DAYS of our charter. This is in line with their written guarantee. Sunsail has also agreed to allow us transfer the four day credit to another individual. I would like to personally thank Karen in Sunsail mgmt. for working with us in this matter.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

We had a similar negative experience with Sunsail in the BVI, late August of 2000. Our first bareboat experience. It started with no provisions on board as we had ordered/requested well in advance of the date they needed. Then we were told to keep a close monitor on the radio as hurricane Debbie might require coming in to a hurricane hole. We were anchored at Jost Van Dyke & luckily a fellow bareboater alerted us to the need to head for cover - Sunsail never hailed us on radio or phone. We made it to the hole with a torn headsail. They did get us to a hotel & handled that to our satisfaction. However, seems there were no spare headsails; they had to send ours for repair; didn''t offer us another boat; cost us a day of sailing. Then, as we thought we were finally getting under way, the steering cable broke ! Instead of cleaning up another boat & let us start our vacation, we had to wait while they literally jury-rigged the cable; again, no spare parts !! The manager & his assitants were rude & very condescending to us. Evidently the Brits define customer service differently than we Americans do. We tell everyone we know to not charter with Sunsail. Friends have chartered with Moorings & have had a great experience. We will be chartering a catamaran thru TMM for a week in Belize this May. Any one have any tips from their experience either with TMM or in Belize?


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## tsenator

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I did a Catamaran with TMM in the BVI''s and though it was one of their older boats (we got a good deal though), everything "important" basically worked, so I was satisfied.

We didn''t have any problems and are pretty resourceful when there was some nuisances. There were little things, make no mistake, but not enough to ruin our vacation or stick in my mind.


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## Eva

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Just got back from a bareboat cat charter with TMM in Belize (Ambergris Caye, the week of 2/8 - 2/15). We were very pleased with TMM''s customer service, the condition of the boat (though it was older and showed it, everything functioned other than a sticky propane solenoid, which we fixed), and the cruising grounds. Belize was amazing. I''ve posted my full (detailed) trip report on both www.traveltalkonline.com (the General Caribbean Forum). I''ll also be happy to answer questions by e-mail.


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## dmurcott

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

I just returned from a charter through Sunsail BVI and couldn''t be happier. We started with a Ben 40CC but received a free upgrade to a NEW Jeanneau 43DS for no reason at all. When we got to the marina it turns out that the generator didn''t work on the boat. I didn''t really care, because we weren''t going to use the a/c and we didn''t pay for the generator anyway. But they wouldn''t here of it. While we were at the chart breifing, they cleaned up another of the same boat, transfered all our gear and gave us 4 bottles of red wine, and we maybe lost 1 hour. The whole rest of the trip went perfectly.


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## Hansdg53

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Chartered many times with Sunsail, including BVI, St. Martin and French Polynesia. Older boats (> 2yrs) in the fleet seem to have a number of problems, possibly due to lack of systematic maintenance. Most of these problems are minor, such as malfunctioning water gauges, speed log, etc. Whatever the problems have been, if you document them, Sunsail has always been very good in giving compensation, like discount coupons for the next charter. 
To minimize such problems, make sure you charter a yacht that is new or that has been 1-2 years in the fleet at the most.


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## TSOJOURNER

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Try TMM! My wife and I took out a Pajot 38. It was an older boat but everything worked perfectly.


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## pma_foyl

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Just thought I''d jump into the mix here. My advice would be AVOID TMM at all costs. They are cheaper and the boat I was on (50'' Beneteau) was quite nice, despite being a little older. But the level of service as APPALLING and the the complete lack of concern enfuriated me.

We were told (on three separate occasions; way in advance) that we could do a boat checkout/chart briefing at 8am and that we''d be underway on our departure day by noon. When I stopped by to see the boat on the night before, it was in shambles and the TMM people had mostly gone home. I asked how the boat would be ready by 8am, they said "it wouldn''t be." TMM doesn''t even open til 9am, and by Caribbean standards, that means 11am. We didnt'' even get our pickup at the hotel til 11:30. Chart briefing didn''t start for another hour. the boat had a non-working head, garbage was left for several days in the forward cabin, the autopilot didn''t work (TMM told me, that''s non-essential, so they don''t care). I asked for compensation, they said "no." We didnt'' get underway til nearly 3pm (the time you should be dropping the hook).

It was basically a wonderful trip, but NOT as a result of TMM. I''ve charted with Moorings before and had a FANTASTIC experience. I thought I was saving money for the same thing. NOT TRUE. I''ll go with Moorings when I go back. I''ll pay the extra bucks to get the superior equipment and PREMIUM service.


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## magnusmurphy

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Since this thread starts off as: "Failed Sunsail charter" I''d just like to add this:

Include Sunsail in the future options. Like Moorings it is a major company with resources. I''ve returned yesterday from a month long charter in the BVI with 
Sunsail. We only had a few minor problems and each time found Sunsail to be immediately responsive and very friendly and professional. I even got to know the dockmaster on a more personal basis and traded stories about our families.

There was one very serious incident one night of criminally boarded boats (even a scuffle with a charterer and allegations of touching of sleeping women). I witnessed some of this incident) by a local person, which soured the end of the vacation for a few people but this could have happened anywhere and really had nothing to do with Sunsail except showing the need for better security in the future. I''m sure Sunsail and the other companies will take note of this and will act appropriately. The police did become involved and hopefully the responsible party will be taken out of circulation.

I''ll make a more detailed report of our trip under a seperate heading later.

Magnus Murphy


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## benlolson

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Eva...

I am thinking about chartering a bareboat in Belize next year and wanted to know your opinion on the trip. I did the BVI''s last year, and want to make this an annual thing at different places. There''s a group of 6 of us who are all college friends, and we''re always looking for a good time and adventure.

After all I''ve heard about Sunsail, I don''t think I want to try them... but I''ve also heard bad things about TMM. We aren''t particular with the boat... older boats are OK as long as they are in good condition. We just want to save a little money.

Thanks! Ben

[email protected]


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## Eva

*Failed SUNSAIL Charter in BVI''''s - Strike Two!*

Ben, I have a report of our sail in Belize with TMM on my website. The address is www.homestead.com/islandtime/MainPage1.html. Our experience with TMM in Belize was excellent, and an excellent value. Customer service started with great relations with their U.S.-based reservations staff, and went right down to their Belize office and dock staff. I have no complaints whatsoever and would not hesitate to sail with them again (we''ve also sailed with Moorings, Footloose and Sail Abaco, so we''re not charter neophytes).

Belize is one of the last great secrets of Caribbean sailing. If you have any questions that my website doesn''t answer, you can e-mail me from there. (Also, if you are near Annapolis, pick up October''s Spinsheet -- I have an article there about Belize sailing).


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