Boat delivery

I’m happy to do watches but I think the owner should be the skipper. Let’s see how it goes and if he comes up with a concrete passage plan.
 
Without trying to seem excessively cynical, if this is really a "brand new" boat, you may need to add another week for snagging, awaiting parts etc.
It’s supposed to be. He said he was in the process of getting the boat ready
 
In my mis-spent past I did quite a lot of deliveries around the Med. The OP seems to have a realistic outlook so I will not insult his intelligence, but I would repeat what others have implied - even at this time of year this is a long trip for a crew of just two. It will be an endurance test and without any semblance of being pleasurable. Others have made cautionary and sensible comments about fuel etc., but I would want to ensure that I knew a bit more about the owner's credentials. There are a lot of Walter Mitties out there. Two-up leaves no room for inadequates.
 
The owner of a Beneteau 50 wants me to help him sail his boat from La Rochelle to Athens. Him and me. Two weeks. How much can I ask?
Where does this fit with the commercial rules of whichever flag state it is operating under? If this was a British Ship then from what you have described then you would want to make sure you understood the IPV rules and if they did or did not / did not need to apply. Given other states are often stricter on paperwork for pleasure vessels, I'd want to be certain I'm not going to face issues because the owner of a brand new 50'er was too tight to pay a professional!
Seeing that map it would be a great trip. I hope the owner goes through with it. I just think he doesn’t have a lot of experience. His first idea was to put the boat on a truck, transport it to the South of France and start from there. He asked me if it was possible to sail the boat around Gibraltar. It’s a brand new Beneteau Oceanis 50 so I said I thought it was possible. He said he was a sailor though. Let’s see if he calls again. My idea was to ask 5000 Euro.
Well he thinks I’m a competent person! His idea was to stop in Gibraltar for the first oil change and engine maintenance at Yanmar.
I used to enjoy deliveries, even when 2 up & it sounds like a good trip - BUT please do make sure that there is no uncertainty about who is the skipper and if that person is the owner that he is competent to plan and execute such a trip. If you are the skip then obviously you'll be making sure you have all the required information to plan the trip effectively. Fuel consumption at various speeds and sea states, water and fuel capacity, provisioning, planned stops and POR's, entry requirements and procedures for the same, contingency, charts and pilots guides, repairs and spares etc etc..

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs. I'm sure it's not necessary :)(y)
I’m happy to do watches but I think the owner should be the skipper. Let’s see how it goes and if he comes up with a concrete passage plan.
All I know is he said he was a sailor
Nothing there reads like he really believes he's the skipper. He's asking you for advice on what's possible. The trip seems near impossible in the timescale, so he's clearly not done the sort of planning obmij suggests (which is fair if he's just doing a back of the envelope calculation to see how it compares to road transport but crazy if he's "the skipper recruiting crew"). The question is do you price on a fixed fee for the trip or a fee per day + travel etc? What happens if you get 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 of the way and are delayed needing spare parts or because he won't sail in rough weather, or you fall out...

There's always uncertainty about who the skipper is when an inexperienced owner invites an experienced one to help him make a complicated trip. You might agree otherwise, but when the preverbial hits the fan he'll be looking to you to tell him what to do - afterall he's paying you, he probably wouldn't find it too hard to find less experienced people willing to do legs for free!
 
In my mis-spent past I did quite a lot of deliveries around the Med. The OP seems to have a realistic outlook so I will not insult his intelligence, but I would repeat what others have implied - even at this time of year this is a long trip for a crew of just two. It will be an endurance test and without any semblance of being pleasurable. Others have made cautionary and sensible comments about fuel etc., but I would want to ensure that I knew a bit more about the owner's credentials. There are a lot of Walter Mitties out there. Two-up leaves no room for inadequates.
Good point. I will try to get a bit more information about the owners sailing experience.
 
Seeing that map it would be a great trip. I hope the owner goes through with it. I just think he doesn’t have a lot of experience. His first idea was to put the boat on a truck, transport it to the South of France and start from there. He asked me if it was possible to sail the boat around Gibraltar. It’s a brand new Beneteau Oceanis 50 so I said I thought it was possible. He said he was a sailor though. Let’s see if he calls again. My idea was to ask 5000 Euro.
I think people tend to hugely underestimate the costs of professional yacht delivery, either by sea or land.
When asking non professionals to crew for them, I have found many to be shocked at the idea of paying real money otherthan a few beer tokens.


P.s. for two of you , you will have to do watches maybe 2 or 4 hourly which means you will be effectively singlehandedly most of the time.
 
Where does this fit with the commercial rules of whichever flag state it is operating under? If this was a British Ship then from what you have described then you would want to make sure you understood the IPV rules and if they did or did not / did not need to apply. Given other states are often stricter on paperwork for pleasure vessels, I'd want to be certain I'm not going to face issues because the owner of a brand new 50'er was too tight to pay a professional!





Nothing there reads like he really believes he's the skipper. He's asking you for advice on what's possible. The trip seems near impossible in the timescale, so he's clearly not done the sort of planning obmij suggests (which is fair if he's just doing a back of the envelope calculation to see how it compares to road transport but crazy if he's "the skipper recruiting crew"). The question is do you price on a fixed fee for the trip or a fee per day + travel etc? What happens if you get 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 of the way and are delayed needing spare parts or because he won't sail in rough weather, or you fall out...

There's always uncertainty about who the skipper is when an inexperienced owner invites an experienced one to help him make a complicated trip. You might agree otherwise, but when the preverbial hits the fan he'll be looking to you to tell him what to do - afterall he's paying you, he probably wouldn't find it too hard to find less experienced people willing to do legs for free!
The owner is Greek so I suppose the boat as well.

Fixed fee or daily rate is another thing I will have to think about. Thank you.

You are right. If he’s less experienced he will be looking at me. Still it’s his boat so that would be a strange situation.

What is a professional delivery captain anyways? I did a delivery last year and got paid for it so technically that would make me a professional - at the start of my „career“?
 
"Two weeks. "

" He asked me if it was possible to sail the boat around Gibraltar"

" He said he was a sailor though. "

Fair enough...But in view of his comments above, I would ask him where and what he has sailed, before you even think about money, voyage plans or anything else.
 
I think people tend to hugely underestimate the costs of professional yacht delivery, either by sea or land.
When asking non professionals to crew for them, I have found many to be shocked at the idea of paying real money otherthan a few beer tokens.
Well I think I wouldn’t do it for fun. As others have pointed out it will be motoring on a tight schedule. Not my kind of sailing. I also value my time.
 
"Two weeks. "

" He asked me if it was possible to sail the boat around Gibraltar"

" He said he was a sailor though. "

Fair enough...But in view of his comments above, I would ask him where and what he has sailed, before you even think about money, voyage plans or anything else.
The more I think about it the more I agree.
 
...

What is a professional delivery captain anyways? I did a delivery last year and got paid for it so technically that would make me a professional - at the start of my „career“?
Someone with a professional qualification, like commercialy endorsed Yachtmaster, and some liability insurance
 
What is a professional delivery captain anyways? I did a delivery last year and got paid for it so technically that would make me a professional - at the start of my „career“?
See you've already stepped into the "captain" shoes...
He's the one who will get the blame when something bad happens...
I *think* in the UK the owner can pay crew to sail the boat for his enjoyment without it being a commercial vessel, but I don't really fancy ending my trip in an interview room with no windows waiting for a translator to appear to explain what the port police were demanding to know so I'd want to be 100% sure that I understood the Greek requirements (perhaps more so than almost any other destination in the med - because they have a reputation for making the rules up as they go along!)
 
Someone with a professional qualification, like commercialy endorsed Yachtmaster, and some liability insurance
This.

The moment you accept payment then you have agreed a contract, even if verbal. There has been an offer, consideration and acceptance.

That is no problem is things go right but puts all sorts of complications and liability if things go wrong. Hence the large cost of liability insurance.
 
Top