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Old 03-08-2007, 10:19   #1
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Island Dreams Yacht Service - Grenada

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with this company in regards to Guardianage/caretaking?

Island Dreams Yacht Services - Guardianage, Moorings, Remote Systems Monitoring, Other Yacht Services

I'm looking for a reputable marina in Grenada to keep the boat for about 4 - 6 months out of the year.

Please feel free to post any info (pro/con) on other companies in the area.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-03-2008, 10:34   #2
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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
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Old 05-03-2008, 12:56   #3
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Your comments are quite valid, Annamaria, I'm sorry you encountered these troubles. The former owners of Island Dreams were quite kind to me, letting me hang on one of their moorings a few days for free and sort out my ground tackle when I found I had dragged in a storm.
I do think your expectations of security were naive for leaving your boat on a mooring. Even if they checked your yacht daily, it would be obvious to any baddies that the boat would be accessable in the middle of the night for robbery. I'm sorry you learned that lesson the hard way, its horrible when your home is violated.
I'm opposed to the idea of moorings used for long term storage in the middle of a tight anchorage for the simple fact that they use harbour space that should be available to all and not a parking lot for profit.
The difference in price between a mooring and storage on the hard is negligible; and the boatyards do have a certain level of security; not that they would reimburse you in the event of theft either.
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Old 05-03-2008, 17:49   #4
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I would suggest Grenada Marine in St. Davids unless you need a lot of technical yacht repair done in which case Spice Island Marine might be best. Grenada Marine has a more isolated spot, good protection and nice folks. The yard is capable of all standard maintenance and has installed a tie down system on the hard since Ivan. They were the least affected marina during Ivan and helped us get underway in its aftermath and treated us nicely and fairly.
Grenada Marine::Full Service Boat yard in the Southern Caribbean - home
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Old 05-03-2008, 22:54   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by camaraderie View Post
I would suggest Grenada Marine in St. Davids unless you need a lot of technical yacht repair done in which case Spice Island Marine might be best. Grenada Marine has a more isolated spot, good protection and nice folks. The yard is capable of all standard maintenance and has installed a tie down system on the hard since Ivan. They were the least affected marina during Ivan and helped us get underway in its aftermath and treated us nicely and fairly.
Grenada Marine::Full Service Boat yard in the Southern Caribbean - home
I would also recommend to go to grenada marine, but also for major repairs. Spice island marine is only good for storage of boats and for simple repairs. Grenada marine also has an extra wide travel lift for multihull haulout.
My experience with island dreams was not positive. I had the same experience as matthew from annamaria.

Ron
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Old 03-07-2009, 12:35   #6
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never ever grenada marine !!!

When we tried to refit Blue Wave,after some days,sommebody stole my outbord engine, my solar panels, dinghi , wind generator, anker,and lots more, when I went to the manager ,he sad only this is your problem,
so I can not recommend grenada marine
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Old 17-08-2009, 14:13   #7
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they stole everything in grenada marine

It was horrible, when I came back after hurrican saison,
my boat was emty, they stole everything, and tried to burn my boat,
the manager was not intrestet about my problems,

regards bob
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Old 17-08-2009, 19:35   #8
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- - Having been in Grenada from just before Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and off an on since then including almost continuously for the last four years, I would agree with just about everybody above - especially about long term mooring storage. Only if you totally empty and strip your boat of anything and everything removeable could I conceive of storage on a mooring.
- - The marinas do provide a notch better storage than moorings, but not much. For a couple of months or maybe up to 4 months marinas would be adequate but you would need to hire a reputable boat watcher to clean and care for your boat while you are gone. I have never heard of a marina allowing a "lock it and leave it" boat. There are two many things that can happen with weather and other unpredictable things.
- - Boatyard storage is next up the ladder, but in "non-secure" yards - i.e., working boatyards thefts seem to be evenly divided between other transient boaters needing to "borrow" something temporarily (in Island Time temporary means forever) and locals. Still it is cyclical in boat yards, sometimes boats get hit a lot and other times everything is smooth and safe. Unfortunately you can not predict when.
- - Secure yards are your best option for safe and long term storage. The nearest two are in Trinidad - Peakes and Coral Cove. These are separate areas enclosed in fences with razor wire that nobody is allowed into except the travelift driver. And the rates are quite reasonable. If you want to "lock it and leave it" for the summer season they are your best option.
- - Grenada is still in the "box" for hurricanes. It is just the bottom of the box. In the past three seasons we have not had any hurricanes or serious T.S.'s. But I would not tempt Mother Nature by leaving my boat unattended in Grenada during the mid-August to November actual hurricane season. All other times of the year, it is the perfect place to leave a boat provided you strip the decks and securely lock the interior - and - have a reputable boat minder or tender take care of the boat while you are gone. Surprisingly the "private" individual (recommended) boat tenders are both honest and attentive to their duties. More so than the organized business folks, they just seem to have too many "irons in the fire" and forget about your boat.
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