Sunsail, much maligned

doris

doris

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Half the forum always has rude things to say about Sunsail but yesterday out on the Solent the sailing was fantastic. Clear blue sky sunshine and 12-17 kts of wind. Without the
Sunsail boats the place would have been deserted. They get the most amazing number of people out on the water, just what is needed considering the thread about the declining
popularity of boating.

We should all be talking about how to encourage them and help their marketing rather being so negative.

Brilliant weekend out on the water.
 
Last season I shared marinas with Sunsail 40's that were obviously hosting courses. What a contrast it was watching them and comparing them with the usual crews. Every manoeuvre was carried out in a quiet, competent, seamanlike manner and considerate of other water users. I complimented the "skippers" at the time.

My most frequent experiences with their boats however is characterised by poor lookouts, ignorance of collision regs, and in general an arrogant "we own the water" attitude to others. Perhaps it's all charter crews behaving like this. I don't know. But they all carry the Sunsail brand.
 
TUI are currently trying to sell Sunsail, so I guess we should expect significant changes in the not too distant future.
 
As some are aware I did a couple of years driving Sunsail boats on corporate days.

Some of the people I encountered whilst doing that job did fit the stereotype that is so much maligned. Loud, braying, drunk, prats. I think I met 4. In 2 years.

By far and away the majority of the people I encountered were really good fun and keen to try sailing. I used to reckon that on average every other event I had someone who loved the sailing so much that they started asking about how to do courses and get into sailing properly, and I know for a fact that a number of people who sailed for the first time with me on a corporate event actually went on to do at least competent crew. I'm genuinely proud of that.
 
Having skippered for Sunsail in the Med I would judge most cleaner entele to be reasonable people....certainly better than those of some other charterers.
doris said:
They get the most amazing number of people out on the water, just what is needed considering the thread about the declining
popularity of boating.
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Personally, I would welcome a decline in boating popularity. The reverse in cycling has had nothing but negative effects for existing participants.
 
flaming said:
As some are aware I did a couple of years driving Sunsail boats on corporate days.

Some of the people I encountered whilst doing that job did fit the stereotype that is so much maligned. Loud, braying, drunk, prats. I think I met 4. In 2 years.

By far and away the majority of the people I encountered were really good fun and keen to try sailing. I used to reckon that on average every other event I had someone who loved the sailing so much that they started asking about how to do courses and get into sailing properly, and I know for a fact that a number of people who sailed for the first time with me on a corporate event actually went on to do at least competent crew. I'm genuinely proud of that.
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This reflects my experience in a somewhat different field. I used to run university postgraduate courses in management. Also ran short courses which many of my colleagues dismissed as being low grade and not worth their time. However each year I would recruit 3 or 4 able students for high level courses that had first experienced a short course and got fired up to do more.

Good quality "taster" activities in many fields are worthwhile if done well.
 
Perhaps we shouldn't label "Sunsail" solely on the actvities of the loonies we see racketing around the Solent. Mea Culpa, but these are the only ones I ever see.
 
doris said:
Half the forum always has rude things to say about Sunsail but yesterday out on the Solent the sailing was fantastic. Clear blue sky sunshine and 12-17 kts of wind. Without the
Sunsail boats the place would have been deserted. They get the most amazing number of people out on the water, just what is needed considering the thread about the declining
popularity of boating.

We should all be talking about how to encourage them and help their marketing rather being so negative.

Brilliant weekend out on the water.
Click to expand...


Stretching the truth a bit there I think-we were out, spent the night at Shepards Wharf and left for Gosport early Sunday morning. Well, early for us anyway...............

There were almost as many Fairview Sailing charter boats out as well, plus plenty of non corporate craft enjoying the brisk breeze and blue skies.

We were on our mooring by 1140 hrs and shortly after the skies darkened and the breeze got gustier.

As you say, a splendid winters weekend on the water-but not ALL down to Sunsail!
 
You know what it's like - I think it is the case of the few rotten apples that rather taint sunsail. They have largish fleets doing racing and a lot of people on each boat. It only takes a corporate charter with a couple of loud people enjoying the post sailing activity to start irritating people and I suspect that if only 5% of clients are loud obnoxious bores then that's still quite a large number if the entire sunsail fleet is in town.
 
jac said:
You know what it's like - I think it is the case of the few rotten apples that rather taint sunsail. They have largish fleets doing racing and a lot of people on each boat. It only takes a corporate charter with a couple of loud people enjoying the post sailing activity to start irritating people and I suspect that if only 5% of clients are loud obnoxious bores then that's still quite a large number if the entire sunsail fleet is in town.
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Is the distinction not this? The Sunsail boats are sometimes driven by folk like flaming who are knowledgeable competent and courteous. However, the rest of the time the driver may be the charterers themselves, which in turn opens all sorts of combinations: competent and obnoxious, courteous but clueless, fired-up cretins, etc.

In other words these vessels are a roll of the dice and best kept clear of. And one can add to that the 'Girls for Sail' (?) pink boat which made me duck hard beneath it on port tack just outside Cowes and then gave a cheery wave as they passed ahead :rolleyes:
 
dom said:
Is the distinction not this?
In other words these vessels are a roll of the dice and best kept clear of. And one can add to that the 'Girls for Sail' (?) pink boat which made me duck hard beneath it on port tack just outside Cowes and then gave a cheery wave as they passed ahead :rolleyes:
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If they were on Port and you ducked them 'hard'.....hmmm. Glad they didn't decide to do the right thing at the last moment.
 
doris said:
If they were on Port and you ducked them 'hard'.....hmmm. Glad they didn't decide to do the right thing at the last moment.
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As I'm sure you know there's a fairly straightforward window for a faster boat to carry out such a maneuver with a functionally zero risk of collision.
 
doris said:
Half the forum always has rude things to say about Sunsail but yesterday out on the Solent the sailing was fantastic. Clear blue sky sunshine and 12-17 kts of wind. Without the
Sunsail boats the place would have been deserted. They get the most amazing number of people out on the water, just what is needed considering the thread about the declining
popularity of boating.

We should all be talking about how to encourage them and help their marketing rather being so negative.

Brilliant weekend out on the water.
Click to expand...

I think you're confused - the complaints are usually about the Sunsail customers rather than the boats or the organisation.
On the other hand Sailing Holidays charterers are decent, reasonable and likeable characters.
All the Sunsail boats I've met carrying classes for Offshore skipper have likewise been pleasant company - even if nonplussed about how to get a boat off a confined pontoon with a strong adverse wind, and that included the instructors.
 
RichardS said:
They might indeed have done the "right thing" at the last moment .... and then there would probably have been a collision. But what, pray tell, was Dom supposed to do before that point? :confused:

Richard
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Err, maybe tack before there is a risk? Both parties are responsible for avoidance but I certainly have wish to start a col regs discussion, even less so racing rules!!!!!!
 
doris said:
Err, maybe tack before there is a risk? Both parties are responsible for avoidance but I certainly have wish to start a col regs discussion, even less so racing rules!!!!!!
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That's a non-sequiter I'm afraid. Why would Dom spontaneously decide to tack before there is any risk unless that were part of his current passage plan? As soon as there is a risk, he is the stand on vessel, and should definitely not tack until it is clear that the give way vessel is not going to take any action. At that point he needs to take action, which is what he appears to have done.

Richard
 
I was a full time Sunsail skipper just over 25 years ago. All employed skippers had to be professional if they wanted to keep their job....charterers however were pot luck...
 
RichardS said:
That's a non-sequiter I'm afraid. Why would Dom spontaneously decide to tack before there is any risk unless that were part of his current passage plan? As soon as there is a risk, he is the stand on vessel, and should definitely not tack until it is clear that the give way vessel is not going to take any action. At that point he needs to take action, which is what he appears to have done.

Richard
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If the Stb boat ducks the port boat there is the possibility of a head on crash. If the port is not giving way the stb boat needs to tack so that they are both parallel and no collision can happen, maybe not real world behaviour but that's the rules.

I've now got my coat.
Night night
 
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