Moonfleet Sailing - Cruise from Hell

[m00nfleet]

Miserable - I did socialise with the other clients, you two went off at every opportunity and didn't join everyone else for the evening meal.

Ill mannered skipper, when and where, show some evidence or instance of this, I find this an insult.

Unfreindly customer service- Is this at myself or the company, I am finding it very difficult to work out when this occurred maybe you can enlighten us.

Not worth writing every account- You mean there is more, I am sure everyone reading this forum will be eager to see what more mud your can sling at Moonfleet.

Pinochio- we will see who is the pinochio, watch this space.

 

[m00nfleet]

Re: summing up

Walking off the boat effect customer feed back, maybe they made a point but they also made a point to the other clients by going without sayng good bye to them, the point was how rude they were.

 

[pendlecats]

Re: summing up

A nice lot of replies there, I have had in the past the odd impossible customer, fortunately with my line of work I get to see them before doing any business with them.

The OP IMO has tried a hatchet job but with the majority here it has backfired presumably because there complaint is at best nit picky.

You have had a past customer on the thread "Rosbif" and for me say’s enough to consider you.

And as one has said - From everything I've read, I would hate to be on a boat with the OP.

 

[dougcowx]

Hi, May I first introduce myself before trying to put my point of view on Carol ( NOT GARY’S) comments. I know I was on trip but my recollections were and are far removed from Carols. Now before I start I would like to give a bit of background of the relationship I have with Noel (before anyone passes an adverse comment). I first went sailing with Noel in the early 90’s. I have just checked my log book and I spent 25 days at sea with him. I stopped sailing in 94 due to work/family commitments etc. I then decided to have a mid life crises and take it up again, for which I am eternally glad of that life decision. I am trying to gain my coastal skipper qual. But unfortunately (but I agree with the rule), all my early 90s days do not count towards it. So I am trying to gain nights on board sea miles and experience etc. This year I have been out with Moonfleet for two 5 days courses (day skipper) and a 5 day experience, one weekend and the seven day cross channel jaunt that Carol mentions below.

I am not the type of person who (unlike Carol) who is lacking the moral courage to raise an issue face to face with someone if they have a problem with goods or services. However I do not want to get into a slanging match over Carols (not Gary’s) comments or her lack of ability to be a team player on the trip. So I have decided to respond to her comments from my point of view. I have placed her original comments in and replied to them. I would also like to point out that this was brought to my attention by a friend and NOT Moonfleet.





Carol says -They say first impressions count and for sure they do. We arrived at the “office” which is a portakabin in a the marina car park.

Doug says -I do not recall any misrepresentation on the brochure or on the web site referring to the offices looking like a corporate bank – what does she want/expect. I would prefer to go sailing with a school who’s boats are safe and meet the current safety regulations. It is more important, from my point of view, that safety priorities and good modern boats are standard practice. What good is a flash office when we are out at sea? Am I missing the point on this please tell me.

Carol - On the joining instructions it mentioned to meet at 8pm for an evening meal in the yacht club. Unfortunately the sailing school had failed to warn us that there would be no catering facilities available. Luckily we were able to visit a local fish & chip shop prior the others arriving who were not so fortunate.

Doug - I received an email informing me that the club house kitchens were not serving food on the Friday night. I went to the chippy ?????? I suppose I could complain to Cobbs Marina for having the audacity to have a wedding reception with a marquee that night at the club house.

Carol -The skipper arrived late.

Doug -I can not comment as I was late. It took me 6 hours + to get from Cambridge (unlike Carols 20 minute journey.) However, I rang Moonfleet on their number at 8.10 and Noel was on his way down to the office for 8.30. I arrived at 8.40 and no one was waiting outside etc. So if he was late (which I doubt) it was not more than 9 minutes.


Carol - He duly issued the wet weather gear that had seen a lot better days.

Doug -Now this bit does confuse me. Carol had a full set of brand new Musto’s on. I believe Gary borrowed Moonfleets foul weather gear, but he looked OK to me and never openly complained of being wet or cold ( I thought he looked quite dashing ).

Carol - Once onboard – we were issued with life jackets – many of which had mould stains on and were frayed around the edges. ( He did mention that they had been tested within the last 12 months but did not produce evidence of this).

Doug -Why was this not questioned at the time? The jackets are at sea the best part of the year. Yes I agree they are discolored but the harnesses and crotch straps were not frayed. It might be a fair comment that Moonfleet should have copies of the test certificates on board, but this was not questioned at the time ???

Carol - We were given a boat brief and told not to break the head door lock as it cost £60 for a replacement (we heard this on numerous occasions throughout the week) and how not to slam the overhead storage doors.

Doug -Yes Noel did mention this. I hold my hand up because I was the chief slammer!!! They are vicious lockers on the Baveria, but her point is ????????? Isn’t it just good husbandry.

Carol -First morning breakfast – toast and cereal – nowhere in sight was there any traditional English breakfast.

Doug -I was never promised a full English, plus if I were skipper we would not have had one. We were leaving at 7.00, the crew had never sailed before together, we had to get a routine sorted out. But on the breakfast menu at 6AM we were offered Orange juice ( but not freshly squeezed on the table, from juicy Valencia Oranges, but out of a Tesco carton NOT the value range), muesli weetabix cornflakes and toast – what more do you want ?????


Carol - We should have known from this that it was going to be a week of very poor quality food. There was no fresh fruit or vegetable on offer

Doug -Without having this blanked by the moderator -absolute poppycock /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif – there was a supply of bananas, apples and pears on board. I personally passed them to Carol and Gary at snack times etc. I also chopped a couple of apples into the fresh salad I made at lunchtimes, this was because I was conscious they were not being eaten. Maybe she expected kiwi fruit comquats ugly fruit etc – get real if you are going to make a comment get the facts right.




Carol -. All the food was frozen or tinned. At least Tesco’s home label did well that week as we certainly did not.

There wasn’t even any water on offer except water out of the tank. Even the lonely bag of bite sized chocolate was hidden away. The food was rationed, we were served out of date food and even mouldy bread!.


Doug - Well the only tesco value labels on show were on the bottles of water. Now when I made the drinks ( I was chief brew boy ) and anyone asked for a glass of water I poured it out of a bottle ( yes a Tesco one). There were enough biscuits and cakes on offer for anyone. Ok only a couple of bite sized bags of Mars Snickers etc for night sailing. I cooked most of the time through my own choice. I can say hand on heart apart from eating scotch eggs on the day of their use by date everything was in date. The bread that was moldy was on the fifth day I think , it was one bread cake out of the packet, come on get real we threw it in the bin. Noel bought fresh bread in Cherbourg. The food I thought on a whole was excellent. You have to remember that we are on a Yacht made to accommodate a maximum of 8 pers. We had 6 including the skipper but it is not The Ritz Grill !!!!!!! Take a reality pill please.

Carol - My partner was due to undergo his RYA Competent Crew course. After three days of being on board, I asked the skipper/instructor when the course was going to start. Every bit of information was extracted rather than being taught. It was probably the worse instruction I have ever seen.

Doug - I personally have been instructed by Noel and I think his method instruction is excellent.

Carol - As you can imagine, the atmosphere was quite difficult on board. We felt as though we were an uninvited guest rather than a paying customer. The skipper told us he was on holiday – yet we paid good money for our holiday which he seemed to forget. The comfort and safety of the guests were not his priority.

Doug -I think the holiday comment was taken out of context. This was made in the saloon cabin when Noel was explaining the basic passage plan and the locations that we were hopefully going to make. I did not notice any atmosphere on board ( I am thick skinned ) apart from a happy one ???? As for the comment of comfort and safety – my response is absolute poppycock.



Carol -The return journey across the channel was interesting. The other yachts left early in order to complete the crossing as the weather was due to worsen. Our skipper didn’t change any plans to suit the weather conditions. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to miss out on his usual duty free wine. Hence, the last four hours of our crossing were in rough conditions.

Doug -The weather was due to change to a F5/6 as i recall well within the boats/crews ability. I have been on a Moonfleet boat in a F7 and felt extremely safe and secure. Maybe Carol should understand that the wind can rise at times !!!!!!! As for the duty free comment – We are in the EU, it does not apply. But if you mean the wine, the departure time was calculated by Noel for the best tides and giving his paying customers come time in Cherbourg !!!!

Carol - I would recommend to stay clear of Moonfleet as the whole experience was one of a shoddy business that is done on the cheap without any customer focus.
I do not think that my expectations are exceedingly high. I expected a safe boat, decent kit to use, a competent pleasant skipper/instructor and food that was acceptable. Unfortunately, Moonfleet fell very short of this.


IDoug - would recommend Moonfleet to anyone. It’s a good sailing school with good customers, fine food and good boats ( both well cared for and under 4 years old). The school in my opinion puts safety first.


Doug - /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gifFinally I think that the way this has been posted on the web without approaching Moonfleet at the time or later appalling.

Oh and definitely finally I would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to Carol and Gary. After being with them all week they just left the Yacht without saying goodbye to me or the other couple that had paid for the trip. I thought we had all been friendly towards the pair of them.

Doug

 

[FullCircle]

Well, that justy has to qualify fo rthe very best 1st post on this Forum.

Well done dmc, and thanks for your comments.Do stick around, the community here is quite useful, you may now want to go and look in the Crewing Opportunities forum a bit further down the Menu page.

Cheers

Jim

 

[tomdroyal1980]

"I would also like to point out that this was brought to my attention by a friend and NOT *********."

Who is the friend? What is his or her posting ID? Would the friend like to identify themselves to verify this?

 

[hannahjames]

..but what purpose would that serve... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[tomdroyal1980]

[ QUOTE ]
..but what purpose would that serve... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

You honestly can't work it out yourself?

 

[hannahjames]

You are obviously more insightful than I am..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[tomdroyal1980]

[ QUOTE ]
You are obviously more insightful than I am..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

So it would seem.

Well, if the claim that he'd heard about this thread independently from a forumite rather than from Moonfleet, were verified, it would eliminate any cynical suspicion that he was Moonfleet in disguise or a friend of Moonfleet talking up the business.

Further it would eliminate the possiblity that this whole thread was a sailing school creating a thread to raise their profile.

 

[SailorFrank]

well said

 

[alant]

Further it would eliminate the possiblity that this whole thread was a sailing school creating a thread to raise their profile.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know Moonfleet & hardly think they need to raise their profile by mud slinging.

Someone seems to have a grouse.

Another mentions that Noel (the owner) seems to have been skipper/instructor on this trip, a point not mentioned by Carol.
I'm now getting confused, particularly since nothing has been mentioned since the original posting.

 

[longjohnsilver]

[ QUOTE ]


Further it would eliminate the possiblity that this whole thread was a sailing school creating a thread to raise their profile.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was the forumite who originally contacted Moonfleet bringing this thread to their attention. So not a complicated double bluff by them!

 

[ShipsWoofy]

<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: I asked for a room with a bath.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: [indicating] You've got a bath!
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: I am not paying seven pounds, twenty pence per night, plus VAT, for a room without a bath.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: There is your bath!
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: [looking at it] You call that a bath? That's not big enough to drown a mouse. It's disgraceful.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: I wish you were a mouse.
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: What? And another thing. I asked for a room with a view.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: [going to window, indicating] That is Torquay, ma'am.
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: That is not good enough.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeasts swinging majestically...
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: Don't be silly. I expect to be able to see the sea.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: You can see the sea. It's over there, between the land and the sky.
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: I'd need a telescope to see that!
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: Well, may I suggest that you move to a hotel closer to the sea...
[sotto]
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: or preferably in it?
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: Now, listen to me. I am not satisfied, but I have decided to stay here. However, I shall expect a reduction.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: Why? Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: Because the room is cold, the bath is too small, the view is invisible, and the radio doesn't work.
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: No, the radio works.
[crossing over to it]
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: What?
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: See if I can't fix it, you scabby old bat!
[he turns it on; it works fine - Manuel plugs his ears]
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: I think we got something, there!
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: [fiddling with hearing aid] What?
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: Don't think me rude, but do you by chance have a hearing aid?
<span style="color:red">Mrs. Richards</span>: Yes, I do have a hearing aid!
<span style="color:blue">Basil Fawlty</span>: Would you like me to get it mended?

 

[tomdroyal1980]

[ QUOTE ]
I was the forumite who originally contacted Moonfleet bringing this thread to their attention.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not what I was asking, you've already stated that. I'm wondering who DMC is and who mentioned this thread to him.

Interesting that by chance he happened to be on the same boat and have a contact on YBW yet his friend is notable by his absence and hasn't been named.

How did this friend know he was on the boat in question?

It's all very fishy and if the person who told DMC came forward (or DMC gave us his ID) the fish aroma would be cleared.

On the face of it it seems DMC is Moonfleet or was asked to post by Moonfleet.

 

[Loginname]

Ah, the good old conspiracy theory!

Of course if the person came forward as you want then how do you know that he hasn't been got at by Moonfleet? I'm even sure that somebody could come up with a conspiracy theory that shows this thread proves that Elvis really is alive and living on the Isle of Wight.

Alternatively some will believe the theory that Carole is a bit of a nutcase and should try something other than boating.

I know which I believe.

 

[webcraft]

[ QUOTE ]
Ah, the good old conspiracy theory!

[/ QUOTE ] Obvious when you think about it isn't it? Anyone can see that Moonfleet is a thinly disguised anagram of MOLE OF NET . . .

- W

 

[curve]

Come on people! Any more updates. Its been ages since we heard anymore about this!

 

[raymondmalik]

Well it's been a long time since anyone posted anything on this thread so here goes.... I've sailed with Noel on three RYA courses with him plus a shorebased DSC VHF course when they were in Uckfield. He's ex-Army and knows how to communicate clearly and succinctly but to some people that might come over as rather brusque. Everybody is a bit different. I learned a lot from him and have gone on to bigger yachts and further afield.
People getting the hump and jumping ship can happen and indeed did on one of my trips with Moonfleet. I think we were all relieved they had gone although of course Noel and Christine felt rightly aggrieved. As for the food, it's not the Ritz or your Mums house but it's not bad and there was always plenty of it. Cooking in a small galley with hardly any worktop space is always a challenge. Noel made sure you could handle the basics and that includes MOB drills, a bit of cooking at sea and cleaning up at the end, he's training you to sail your own boat someday not go on a Cunard cruise. I tried to contact them recently to arrange some more refreshers but the website has gone along and the Facebook page hasn't been updated for some time. Perhaps they have taken retirement and swallowed the anchor..... Anyway, best wishes to them both and thanks, money well spent.

 

[laika]

Well it's been a long time since anyone posted anything on this thread so here goes....

Out of curiosity...what made you choose to revive this thread after 13 years?