Insurance

helixkimara

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Hello everyone. I've had some interesting reading and laughs since introduced to the forum.
My insurance company man burst into tears /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif when I mensioned "Ocean" "Racing" "Singlehanded" Even when I reminded them that Robin Knox Johnson raced single handed around the world in a yacht named after them. "Yes but we didn't insure him" was the reply. Has anyone had more favourable replies. :
 
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I don't want to be rude or anything, but...............






Are you suggesting that there might be some dimwitted insurance company out there that would be mad enough to insure one about to do a single handed transat in a piddly assed wee boat?

By the way, if there is such a company, I would dearly love to know who they are? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

CPD

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Welcome to the forums !. Your standard yacht insurance will cover stated areas, possibly distance offshore and also possibly times of the day. Go outside any of these, have a problem, and you can be fairly certain that you will not be covered. I understand that Pantaneus offered a one off cover for the Jester 06 Challenge (3rd party only) but I have no idea if the same will be offered for next year. So, as far as I know, if you enter into the Jester, your standard insurance will not cover the event. Having said that though, I changed to GJW this year, and I will certainly be talking to them about it. If you dont ask, you dont get !
 

helixkimara

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I don't want to be rude or anything "Smiffy"but just cos your boats a bath tube with the plug welded in and a cloths prop sticking out the top.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Thanks for your comments and you are most probably very right.
regards
Tomato source
 

lyina

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If singlehanders can't get insurance,how do they get on entering foreign marinas,ports etc, as I presume they would require some form of insurance?
 

Noddy

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[ QUOTE ]
Are you suggesting that there might be some dimwitted insurance company out there that would be mad enough to insure one about to do a single handed transat in a piddly assed wee boat?

[/ QUOTE ]
I think that an insurer who is prepared to take you on at a reasonable rate actually throws all the other rip off merchants into sharp relief.

Try Edward William on 0870 242 5542

They will cover me single handed to the Azores

Please mention that Paul Feasey refered you - it will knock a bit off my premium.

Cheers
 

jesterchallenger

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I believe Pantaenius will offer third party insurance, but I have yet to check this out. I would add that 20 years ago I cruised many tens of thousands of miles uninsured, including the US east coast, because no insurance was available then, fully crewed or singlehanded, third party or otherwise. It helps to concentrate the mind wonderfully on what's really important - seamanship; whether it be crossing an ocean or manouevring in a marina. Insurance is rather like an engine - handy if you've got it, but you soon get used to being without it (my last boat, a 30 footer was engineless and uninsured, so I speak from personal experience of a deficit of both!) What I am not sure about, is whether sight of an insurance certificate is necessary for the marina at Ponta Delgada, so maybe there's someone out there who could enlighten us.
 

Independence

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I tried the Azores earlier this year (and failed!) and spent some time sourcing insurance cover but to no avail.

I ended up contacting Ewen who mentioned Pantaneous had provided group cover for JACs but when I contacted them they weren't interested.

At the last minute I ended up with 3rd Party cover from my existing broker Bishop Skinner who use Axa. I'm afraid they thought I was part of the AZAB race which was starting a week earlier than my departure but I kept quiet about that.

I managed to make contact with people that had sailed to the Azores previously. The general opinion seemed to be that if you were in a modest vessel such as JCs you were unlikely to be asked for insurance. If you were in the Swan class you were likely to get asked for insurance ...... along with everything else.
 

Kilter

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[ QUOTE ]
I don't want to be rude or anything "Smiffy"but just cos your boats a bath tube with the plug welded in and a cloths prop sticking out the top.


[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't know he'd upgraded! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 

Bajansailor

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"Closeish to shore, they probably can (get insurance), its the wide open bit thats the problem".

And yet its when any yacht is closeish to shore that they are faced with so many hazards and perils that they do not need to worry about when offshore in deep water - but insurance companies are blinkered and refuse to believe this....

Same as how the main boat insurance company here wouldnt believe me (they thought I was mad) when I proved to them a fisherman is much safer on his boat fishing on the high seas than driving along the main highway here.... yet they will happily offer anybody insurance for driving cars, complete with no claims discounts, yet fishing boats have huge premiums, and no no claims at all!
 

andlauer

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Bonjour
For the boats with a french flag, I would recommend AGPM.
Just contact me if you want the contact. Of course I have no interest.
About 30 Euro for third party worldwide.
The only limitation is to race on a cost only budget (very easy to reach!).
Just register your boat in France!
It would be funny to have a French boat only JAC !!!!
Eric

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 

helixkimara

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yeh,
Suhaili.
Southern Ocean
(off Roaring 40's)
Dirrections: Go south till your fingers fall off then turn left.
(Take ya time) /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif



I'm sure you know I was on about Saga but just in case "SAGA" ya daffty.
Mind you his wind vane was called "The Admiral" so you could try Admiral insurance. I've actually touched Suhaili, so I know what I'm talking about!
 
G

Guest

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[ QUOTE ]
I don't want to be rude or anything "Smiffy"but just cos your boats a bath tube with the plug welded in and a cloths prop sticking out the top.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Thanks for your comments and you are most probably very right.
regards
Tomato source

[/ QUOTE ]


You been spying on me you wazzock! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 

Independence

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My attempt on the Azores this year.

As requested, I've provided some details of my attempt earlier this year to sail to the Azores and back in my bilge keel Jaguar 25 and hope my modest contribution will be useful to other budding ocean sailors out there. I should start by thanking some of the JC06 Challengers and one in particular who having returned early to the UK and with him trying to pick up his business interests, still found time to reply to my e-mails and numerous questions…..and doubts. For me it summed up what the JC is all about.

I've spent some years preparing for the passage which has practically ended up with my rebuilding the boat and in particular, new toughened glass windows, re-wiring the whole boat, making cockpit lids water tight, over engineering the pintles of my transom hung rudder and fixing large stainless steel plates under the shroud plates to mention but a few. Not knowing if I was up to the Azores or not I tried a 5 day single handed passage from Plymouth in 2005, spent 2006 doing a few extra jobs and finally departed 9th June 2007.
I have to say the 5 day trial was a worth while exercise as was the poor passage planning I did coming around Portland Bill on the way home with wind over spring tide!!!! However I made it through and had a lot of confidence in the boat afterwards. By co-incidence one of the JC06'rs told me he used this technique (in a tactical way however) to test the sea keeping qualities of his boat.

The short and tall of it was that I set off in light airs thinking it would give me a chance to settle in to it. Unfortunately I had the first 2 nights in fog and the following 3 days with hardly any wind. I ended up making such slow progress I was in danger of arriving later than the latest date I had told my family as well as potentially getting back late for work as a consequence. I thought I had planned for most things but didn't plan for light airs so early on and therefore didn't take a satellite phone. In the end I was back in Falmouth after 8 days and 630 miles, disappointed but feeling I had added to my chances of succeeding next year. I certainly managed the boat and my own well being a lot better than my 5 day trial and had a good opportunity to better sort out things like sleep routine, food, drink and emergency strategies.

If there are other JCs out there who like me are just getting into these sorts of passages from pretty much zero experience I'd recommend the following:-
Research, research and then research as much as you can.
Contact as many people as you can who have appropriate experience and therefore useful knowledge.
One of the most pleasant aspects about the project for me has been meeting so many nice people out there who are only too willing to help you.
One of the best pieces of advice I had was from a JC06er who said only listen to those people who actually have the experience and not to the yacht club bar dreamers (even though I don't belong to a yacht club I still bumped into one or two).
Finally, use the JC08ers as a support mechanism. We've begun meeting up on the East Coast here where not only do you get a chance to share your anxieties!!! but you also get to learn a lot from other people who most importantly are very positive and focused on what they are trying to achieve.

So……. there's a few words from a very modest sailor on the east coast who has got loads to learn still and is looking forward to meeting you all in due course.
 
G

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Re: My attempt on the Azores this year.

Great post! and well done! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Saddletramp

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Re: My attempt on the Azores this year.

Thanks Paul, very informative. I particularly like your comment about only speaking to those who have actually done it.
Getting to the start line is a major achievement, has been discussed previoulsy on this forum.

I fear you may be the recipient of some pm's.
 
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