In 2007, I used Island Dreams Yacht Services in
Grenada, operated
by Mark and Anita Sutton, and I was very disappointed with the
service that I received.
Island Dreams Yacht Services states on their web site that they
provide the
service of "Yacht Management". In their words, "When
the owner arrives, the
boat is ready." However, in my experience,
they were never able to live up to this promise. In April 2007, my
family and I cut our
vacation short after one week when we realized
that there were so many unresolved problems with our boat which Island
Dreams had not identified and/or fixed. When we returned in December 2007,
we spent three weeks on the
dock, rather than sailing in the Grenadines
as we had hoped to do. This could have been entirely avoided if Island
Dreams Yacht Services had performed some simple checks that are considered
standard operating procedure at reputable
charter companies.
Another area where I have had an unsatisfactory experience with
Island Dreams Yacht Services pertains to their moorings. Island
Dreams owns a number of so-called "hurricane moorings," and it
rents these moorings to yacht owners as an allegedly safe and secure
alternative to haulout during
hurricane season. During the 2007
hurricane season, I rented a
mooring from them. The
mooring was
located in Woburn Bay, on the south coast of Grenada. In November
2007, my boat was broken into and ransacked while on Island Dreams'
mooring. During a subsequent inventory of the boat, a number of
items were found to be missing, totaling more than US $1,000 in value.
I was informed that another yacht on a nearby mooring was also
broken into and ransacked. Island Dreams refused to accept any
liability for this event. Instead, they used this misfortune as a
profit opportunity and charged me for
cleaning up the boat, talking
to the police, etc. The break-in was reported to local authorities,
although to my knowledge, no suspects were ever identified and no
leads are currently being pursued.
In retrospect, it seems very unwise to have rented a long-term
mooring. It seems to me that it is likely that the moorings belonging
to Island Dreams are known to many locals. Boats on these moorings
rarely ever have people on board, and they are only checked once a
week. Thus, boats located on these moorings are ideal targets for theft.
Island Dreams also offers the service of "Project Management," e.g.,
overseeing and performing yacht
maintenance and
repairs. However,
I have negative experiences to report here as well. I have experienced
each of the following from Island Dreams: (a) They have attempted to
bill for
work that was never performed; (b) They have performed
unnecessary
work, which I never requested, and then billed me for it;
(c) They failed to perform tasks which I had asked them to perform;
(d) They have at times failed to carry out tasks according to my
prior (written) instructions; and (e) The amounts charged for
routine tasks have sometimes seemed highly excessive.
This is the first time that I have ever publicly written negative
commentary about a yacht service provider. Normally, I simply turn
the other cheek and move on. However, I feel that the only way that
the cruising community can effectively protect itself from unsatisfactory
service providers is through sharing information about our experiences.
I write this message in the hopes that other cruisers will be spared
from the bad experiences which I have had with Island Dreams Yacht Services.
Matthew Clegg
s/v Anna Maria