Volos/Skiathos Floods

[shan]

@vas - pm sent. Thank you.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Things are not looking good, today and tomorrow, for the area around Volos, including North Evia and Attiki. We had a big storm last night and expecting more rain tomorrow. The already flooded areas may suffer more. The winds have been force 6 to force 8, but it is expected this time of the year.

 

[shan]

Things are not looking good, today and tomorrow, for the area around Volos, including North Evia and Attiki. We had a big storm last night and expecting more rain tomorrow. The already flooded areas may suffer more. The winds have been force 6 to force 8, but it is expected this time of the year.

Absolutely awful.

 

[Davy_S]

https://en.protothema.gr/destruction-in-evia-and-volos-as-storm-elias-wreaks-havoc-videos/

 

[Clancy Moped]

Friends of ours have lost the family home in Pefki

 

[shan]

Friends of ours have lost the family home in Pefki

I'm really sorry to hear that.

 

[vas]

yes, back to square zero...
Less water, shorter downpour period, more destruction :-(
suffering infrastructure couldn't cope, back to no el. water, crap internet and looking forward to going back to some type of normality.
Even ones like us that didn't actually suffer personal damages are greatly disappointed with the condition of the city and the suffering around us. Will be months (if not years) before recovering. And annoyingly I'm pretty sure that no necessary alterations in infrastructure will be made to make sure same wont happen again - which is v.disappointing. Still seems like there was no life loss which I guess counts as possitive.
200sqm research lab I'm responsible for flooded again, had brought tools (impact drivers, karcher pressure washer, dehumidifiers, even a petrol generator borrowed from a mate!) all floating in the locked basement. will spent the next week, cleaning again everything, after firebrigade pumps out around 150cubicmetre of water out of the whole basement (circa 500sqm). Lab will be back in business (teaching and research) after xmass for sure. Looks like start of semester will be distance learning as in good old covid days :-(

Good thing that we have the boat 400metre away in the port so spend the night there having hot shower and electricity and working from there for today.

V.

PS. @shan once all this mess settles I'll try to contact them, however the fact it's not their own boat but a "customer's" one makes things pretty impossible I think. Will let you know anyway!

 

[shan]

yes, back to square zero...
Less water, shorter downpour period, more destruction :-(
suffering infrastructure couldn't cope, back to no el. water, crap internet and looking forward to going back to some type of normality.
Even ones like us that didn't actually suffer personal damages are greatly disappointed with the condition of the city and the suffering around us. Will be months (if not years) before recovering. And annoyingly I'm pretty sure that no necessary alterations in infrastructure will be made to make sure same wont happen again - which is v.disappointing. Still seems like there was no life loss which I guess counts as possitive.
200sqm research lab I'm responsible for flooded again, had brought tools (impact drivers, karcher pressure washer, dehumidifiers, even a petrol generator borrowed from a mate!) all floating in the locked basement. will spent the next week, cleaning again everything, after firebrigade pumps out around 150cubicmetre of water out of the whole basement (circa 500sqm). Lab will be back in business (teaching and research) after xmass for sure. Looks like start of semester will be distance learning as in good old covid days :-(

Good thing that we have the boat 400metre away in the port so spend the night there having hot shower and electricity and working from there for today.

V.

PS. @shan once all this mess settles I'll try to contact them, however the fact it's not their own boat but a "customer's" one makes things pretty impossible I think. Will let you know anyway!

I'm really sorry to hear about further rainfall and flooding - of course that is the priority.

Thanks @vas - it's an important lesson in know exactly who your contract is with - I'll be doing a thread about it when I get the time. Hopefully, my experience is a warning to others.

 

[Daydream believer]

Yes, he is.

Short of hiring a private jet and a helicopter, there is no reasonable route. The hotels we booked in Skiathos and Volos have both cancelled our bookings there. I think that says it all.

Charter a boat?

 

[shan]

Charter a boat?

Neither clever nor funny.

 

[shan]

The cheek! Just received this from Helm. Charter was booked through Helm, who used Sail Aegean.


My response was: "No thank you Peter, I think I have learned my very expensive lesson about knowing exactly who the charter contract is with."

 

[Clancy Moped]

The cheek! Just received this from Helm. Charter was booked through Helm, who used Sail Aegean.

View attachment 164753
My response was: "No thank you Peter, I think I have learned my very expensive lesson about knowing exactly who the charter contract is with."

Didn't they say they were fully booked for next season? Hence no rescheduling.

 

[shan]

Didn't they say they were fully booked for next season? Hence no rescheduling.

Yup... but they are essentially placing all the blame on the so called owner of the boat called Kaze Maru. Very convenient that they have no control over rescheduling but can apparently offer a 30% discount.

As I said to Peter in a previous email, when he also offered a discount: "No, we don’t have insurance and even if we did, they would take the view that the charter was available. The only people that have lost here is J and I. Helm, the so called boat owner and sail Aegean have lost nothing. I think I can only write this off to a bad experience, not to be repeated ."

They are all very keen to offer a discount but not keen to actually do anything useful, other than encouraging me to spend more money.

 

[shan]

We even offered to pay extra for the charter to be rescheduled next year, as we were aware that prices would go up.

 

[Clancy Moped]

I think I would chalk it up, and walk away, if this the treatment from afar, who knows what its like on the ground.

 

[benjenbav]

Yup... but they are essentially placing all the blame on the so called owner of the boat called Kaze Maru. Very convenient that they have no control over rescheduling but can apparently offer a 30% discount.

As I said to Peter in a previous email, when he also offered a discount: "No, we don’t have insurance and even if we did, they would take the view that the charter was available. The only people that have lost here is J and I. Helm, the so called boat owner and sail Aegean have lost nothing. I think I can only write this off to a bad experience, not to be repeated ."

They are all very keen to offer a discount but not keen to actually do anything useful, other than encouraging me to spend more money.

Hi Shan - there’s a concept of frustration in EN law. Essentially a contract is frustrated when it becomes impossible to perform owing to an unpredictable supervening event that is not the fault of either of the parties to the contract.

Whether there is anything similar in whichever law this contract is written and whether the circumstances in which you find yourself would allow the application of any such concept are issues on which I can’t comment.

Whether this is worth exploring with lawyers qualified to comment or whether that would be throwing good money after bad would, of course, be something for you to decide.

 

[shan]

Hi Shan - there’s a concept of frustration in EN law. Essentially a contract is frustrated when it becomes impossible to perform owing to a supervening event outside the control of the parties.

Whether there is similar in whichever law this contract is written and whether the circumstances in which you find yourself would allow the application of any such concept are issues on which I can’t comment.

Whether this is worth exploring with lawyers qualified to comment or whether that would be throwing good money after bad would, of course, be something for you to decide.

Thanks but I suspect the only people who would 'win' in that scenario, would be the lawyers.

 

[shan]

I think I would chalk it up, and walk away, if this the treatment from afar, who knows what its like on the ground.

Absolutely. I posted this thread on their twitter account. I have done my bit to warn others.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Iw Ould be inclined to let someone with contract law give it the once over in the hope that the real threat of legal action would move them towards a realistic settlement. Especially as the contract will be subject to either EU or En law both of which can favour the buyer. If it's subject to English law the Small Claims court up to £10,000 is cheap enough to pursue and think of the satisfaction and pleasure which would outweigh any financial recompense.

It's all in the small print.

 

[shan]

Iw Ould be inclined to let someone with contract law give it the once over in the hope that the real threat of legal action would move them towards a realistic settlement. Especially as the contract will be subject to either EU or En law both of which can favour the buyer. If it's subject to English law the Small Claims court up to £10,000 is cheap enough to pursue and think of the satisfaction and pleasure which would outweigh any financial recompense.

It's all in the small print.

Honestly, I just really do not have the time, the inclination or the energy and realistically, they fulfilled the requirement of the charter boat being ready and available for the charter, regardless, of my travel difficulties or the fact that the charter grounds could do without the burden and were not exactly going to result in a pleasant charter. Their behaviour, whilst unethical and in my view, unreasonable, wasn't illegal. According to the terms and conditions, they fulfilled the terms even if their stance was amoral.