Moonfleet Sailing - Cruise from Hell

[Parsonsheath]

A number of others had asked if you contacted Moonfleet before this posting, I may have missed your reply.

I hear your comments, but with no response or balance wonder why you are "badmouthing" the organisation if you have not spoken to them direct beforehand.

Sorry, not prepared to join a witchhunt!

 

[webcraft]

[ QUOTE ]
I expected a safe boat,

[/ QUOTE ] As I explained in a previous post, you got a safe boat. Regular stringent inspections of all sailing school boats ensure this. Do you have a marine surveying qualification?

[ QUOTE ]
decent kit to use

[/ QUOTE ] What was indecent? Automatic gas lifejackets are not cheap, and schools cannot afford to throw them away because they do not look brand new - they are not fashion items, and what is important is that they work. As you were told, they were inspected and they would have worked.

[ QUOTE ]
a competent pleasant skipper/instructor

[/ QUOTE ] Yachtmaster instructors have to requalify every five years and I have yet to meet one who could be described as incompetent in any respect. Pleasant is of course in the eye of the beholder, but you were there as crew to learn, not to be pampered. Perhaps you are a difficult student.

[ QUOTE ]
food that was acceptable

[/ QUOTE ] Again, it rather depends on your expectations. I would suggest that yours were a little high.

I see from their website that a 5-day Comp Crew course with Moonfleet (high season) costs £425. This includes accommodation, training and food - and you consider that expensive? Again, I would suggest that yachting might not be the sport for you!

I hope that by now you have realised from the responses here that perhaps your expectations were a little unreasonable. I just hope you only took out your frustrations on the instructor and didn't spoil the course for everyone else on board!

- W

 

[BlueSkyNick]

[ QUOTE ]


The other course was with BOSS and was excellent. The boat was an old and well used Westerly Fulmar, but was clean and everything worked. The food was much better, and the instructor kept things well under control - even in heavier weather than experienced on the other course.

[/ QUOTE ]I did my Dazed Kipper on that very same boat a few years ago - would agree with your comment, and on the food too. The instructor was self employed and planning to move on, though.

 

[fireball]

[ QUOTE ]
Yachtmaster instructors have to requalify every five years and I have yet to meet one who could be described as incompetent in any respect.

[/ QUOTE ]
I have had a different experience to you -
the first was only shore based - DS theory - I've said on here before - I wouldn't trust him with my tender let alone my boat - he was sloppy, contradicted the course material, showed us safety videos 15 years out of date and let ppl pass who couldn't draw a line on a chart properly. He was a pleasant enough chap though - even so, I wouldn't even set out on a practical course with him - and he was YM instructor ....

the second was only brief encounter this year in Cowes - they berthed next to us, whilst he was probably safe enough, some of what he was saying was not correct and then his maneuvering out of the berth was diabolical for an instructor - I'dve expected a DS prac student to achieve what he did....

I have worked with quite a number of RYA instructors and most of them are fine, but you always get different personalities ... we were lucky (well - we chose well) with our DS practical - he was superb, even if he did navigate us onto Ryde sands!!

 

[Heckler]

Happy Shopper is Bookers Cash & Carry own brand that the corner shops of this world retail so I dont see what the point is of being snotty! Just a label on a tin is all, made in the same factory as national brands!
Going back to the original post, on my 35ft Bene with 6 on board it was pushing it to produce a "full english" purely from a space point of view, strikes me the original poster is a typical modern day winger, full of their own self importance, missing the point of the exercise, there to learn to sail not to go swanning on a yacht!!

 

[fireball]

[ QUOTE ]
Going back to the original post, on my 35ft Bene with 6 on board it was pushing it to produce a "full english" purely from a space point of view

[/ QUOTE ]
Really? We've managed with 5 ppl on a 30'er ... one does the cooking, another does the tea/coffee and the others bugger off out of the way until it is ready! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif But it doesn't state full english so if that was missing how hard would it have been to nip down to the local shop and get the bits ...

 

[Sailfree]

Up to recently all the Instructors I have met have been very good.

Remember the pass rate for instructors I believe is only 50%and most fail on attitude/ability to teach not personal knowledge.

Recent occasion was a Sunsail boat with people preparing for a Flotilla holiday. Arrival and departure (rafting up) were very casual with apparently no clear instruction. I was surprised when singling up to leave he did not request the short length of rope on top of cleat. Pulling in 40' was asking for it to catch. Maybe he expected us to lift off his ropes and pass them across but again he did not ask. I did assume he was a qualified Instructor but perhaps just had a cruising certificate which I believe entitles you to teach comp crew.

I think Carols complaint is really about the Instructor as a number things may not have bothered her if he had been enthusiastic and explained things better. Sad if people like him put people off sailing.

My 1st boat was chartered and used by Hamble School of Yachting and it did get a hard life and am aware how little profit there is in these courses once the boat/provisions/instructor are paid. IIRC 10 years ago I got £75 per day for the use of a charter coded Dufour 36 that cost me £85k. Not a deal I would recommend to anyone unless its the only way you could afford to have a boat.

The little profit is borne out by the number of schools that go bust.

Competition has really driven prices for courses down to minimum but a newbe would not appreciate that unless it was explained.

 

[graham]

We usually do a cooked breakfast on our 25 ftr with 4 of us on board. I think a big breakfast sets you upfor the day and think it reasonable to expect one on a sailing course where you will burn off a lot of calories during the day.

 

[SirSnoozalot]

It seems to me, in my very humble opinion, that the school is at fault on one issue:

That is, not relating offer to expectation.

While in this highly competitive world one would not specifically state in the advertising material that "Full English Breakfast is not available, and the damp marine environment might mean that there are touches of damp mould on the gear" you might instead provide detailed joining instructions giving a clear picture of what is to be provided, and what is available at extra cost etc.

When I did my instructor course, one of the specific targets given by the RYA was that the students should enjoy the experience, and the instructor should do his best to try and see that happened. Demonstrate, practice, re-inforce, enjoy.

However, as we all know, there is every now and then, a bad apple student, whom is almost impossible to inspire to actually enjoy it.

But, an experience is always an experience be it good or bad. Look back on it and learn. Some of my worst experiences have provided much laughter in the bar on a cold winter's night.

Years ago, I did three separate courses at what is now UKSA. The first was brilliant - I went there with no accurate idea of what it was going to be like, and thus faced it with some trepidation, It was however, far better than any expectations I even could have had.

The next time I went, I knew what it was going to be like. Oh how wrong I was! On the second course, they threw everything at us, bad weather, faulty gear, everything they could find, deliberately - but, when back in the classroom, the analysis of what we had done has stayed in my mind ever since, and been instrumental in getting me out of scrapes on a few occassions.

On my last visit, we had two instructors from another school, who were awful, and put the backs up of every student in the group. While I had two good experiences, the last one was very bad, and I have not been back since.

Now, I use local schools to get that extra bit of paper when needed.

People can have bad experiences, sometimes they can be self-induced by having unrealistic expectations. I would say it's the schools job, to marry them together. Most schools rely on repeat custom.

 

[l'escargot]

[ QUOTE ]
Happy Shopper is Bookers Cash & Carry own brand that the corner shops of this world retail so I dont see what the point is of being snotty! Just a label on a tin is all, made in the same factory as national brands!...

[/ QUOTE ]
If it suits your taste, go for it. I think it is cheap crap - on par with "Basics" and the like.

It certainly wouldn't be my choice of provisioning and I don't think many other people would say "I'll treat myself tonight and go out and buy some 'Happy Shopper' readymeals" or "Great, I love sailing with Mark, he always stocks his boat up with 'Happy Shopper' meals" - it's what you buy when all the other shops are shut. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[SirSnoozalot]

I was just imaginiung doing the ARC with only Happy Shopper Tea-bags!!! Jeez, it'd make you suicidal!

 

[Loginname]

It sounds like a personality clash. Which personality caused it we will never know but a small boat isn't the place for prima donas.

I have a simple rule on my boat. If you don't like it then I'll put you ashore.
Only done it once. A cantankerous nephew; he didn't think I'ld do it, so he had a shock. We enjoyed the rest of our holiday but the first few days had been pretty miserable.

You get a full English on my boat. It's my speciality.
The rest of the food can be pretty poor though!

 

[Giblets]

I think the OP's problem can be summed up by the second word of the second sentance of their second post. That word is "cruise".

You were not on a cruise, you were on a course of instruction which is possibly where the expectations may have differed.

 

[Loginname]

That's what I thought, until I looked on their website which does talk about cruises with some "low key training".

I still wouldn't expect it to be up to Cunard standards though.

 

[SirSnoozalot]

<Mental note: Remember to raft next to Login_name if you see him one morning before breakfast> /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[bilbobaggins]

[ QUOTE ]
food that was acceptable

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this what you'd consider acceptable? You have to qualify for this 'Gold Standard'....

....and this was for just a couple of days last year! But, and a big 'but'......beware the Spanish Chicken!

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Loginname]

[ QUOTE ]
<Mental note: Remember to raft next to Login_name if you see him one morning before breakfast> /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll find the cons far outweigh the pros. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[michael_w]

Only one trolley Bilbo? Ship's company must have gone hungry ont that trip. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[longjohnsilver]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
food that was acceptable

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this what you'd consider acceptable? You have to qualify for this 'Gold Standard'....

....and this was for just a couple of days last year! But, and a big 'but'......beware the Spanish Chicken!

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally unacceptable. There appears to be a severe defficiency in the vital areas of liquid refreshments. Good grief man, where's the beer and wine?

 

[Tranona]

What do you think San Miguel is? Horlicks substitute or just moveable ballast?