Extortion in Nassau

[CSY Man]

Did not know the engine could be covered by yacht insurance.
Do you have a special bumper to bumper policy which specifically includes the engine?
Normally an insurance company would do anything to get out a claim instead of helping with towing and engine overhauls, etc.

If this indeed pans out I may have to talk to that insurance company, right now I am somewhat protected for hurricane damage, sinking and accidents, don't think the mechanical stuff is covered..

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by tomfl

....... My take was the guy was a private tow service employee wearing a BASRA shirt who got a hot tip from customs.....

Or more simply had his radio scanning channels 16/12 and they would have heard the tow boat requesting permission to enter Nassau Harbour. No need to implicate customs, unless you have additional info.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Did not know the engine could be covered by yacht insurance.
Do you have a special bumper to bumper policy which specifically includes the engine?
Normally an insurance company would do anything to get out a claim instead of helping with towing and engine overhauls, etc.
.....

Yea, I'm surprised that insurance is involved at all with an engine sucking water. I have the same carrier, Seaworthy. Its good insurance but my policy includes these exclusions:

This insurance does not cover:
A. any loss caused directly or indirectly by wear and tear,
gradual deterioration, mechanical or electrical breakdown,
overheating, electrolysis, galvanic action, rot, mold or mildew,
corrosion, weathering, marring, scratching, denting, vermin,
animals or marine life; however, we will cover immediate consequential
property damage resulting from any fire, explosion,
sinking, demasting, collision or stranding;

Pretty standard exclusions on a marine policy.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Or more simply had his radio scanning channels 16/12 and they would have heard the tow boat requesting permission to enter Nassau Harbour. No need to implicate customs, unless you have additional info.

I have no additional info, but if I recall Three Sheets said she went to the customs office to discuss the matter as directed by her insurance company and the tow boat guy contacted her right after that. It is possible the tow boat guy was watching the customs office, but I very much got the impression Three Sheets thought the customs guy was giving the heads up to the tow boat operator. There were comments that this sort of thing is to be expected in third world countries.

Again I have no direct info on the involvement of the customs guy, but clearly the tow boat guy did say he was the only tow service Three Sheets would be allowed to use and also represented himself as an official BASRA guy.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Did not know the engine could be covered by yacht insurance.
Do you have a special bumper to bumper policy which specifically includes the engine?
Normally an insurance company would do anything to get out a claim instead of helping with towing and engine overhauls, etc.

If this indeed pans out I may have to talk to that insurance company, right now I am somewhat protected for hurricane damage, sinking and accidents, don't think the mechanical stuff is covered..

Not sure about this particular policy, but in general you can get insurance on anything, if you are willing to pay for it.

[s/v 'Faith']

Originally Posted by Paul L

Or more simply had his radio scanning channels 16/12 and they would have heard the tow boat requesting permission to enter Nassau Harbour. No need to implicate customs, unless you have additional info.

Yes, exactly. Post #1 in this thread clearly says as much (that Towboat called).

[Three Sheets]

Originally Posted by s/v 'Faith'

Yes, exactly. Post #1 in this thread clearly says as much (that Towboat called).

Except that when they called they did not give our vessel name or marina at the time...

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Three Sheets

Except that when they called they did not give our vessel name or marina at the time...

As I have posted before and it is not confirmed by Three Sheets this bozo who wears a BASRA shirt seems to be getting inside information from someone and it looks like that someone is connected to customs. I am inclined to believe Three Sheets about him trying to intimidate them especially about the part of him being the only one who could tow them.


Lets also remember Three Sheets finally did get a tow job from the marina they were staying in and I will bet it cost a lot less than what the BASRA shirt wanted to charge them.

It is all too easy to say the folks on Three Sheets are inexperienced and did not prepare well enough for their trip. But the bottom line is at least one person who wears a BASRA shirt is giving the Bahamas a bad name and he may well have someone working with him who can get inside information from the Customs office. This is the real issue that needs to be addressed.

[s/v 'Faith']

Originally Posted by Three Sheets

Except that when they called they did not give our vessel name or marina at the time...

Nassau is a large city, but not so large that no one would know what (disabled) boat would possibly be awaiting a tow back to the US....

...not impossible that there was a conspiracy, but not necessarily the only explanation either.

[Three Sheets]

Why do I keep letting myself get sucked back in?!

S/V Faith, I concede it may have had nothing to do with customs. In a previous post I did state it was the "appearance of" collaboration with the extortionist that bothered me. No, I can't outright claim it was customs and immigrations, nor did I. But there were way too many coincidences, including the extortionist showing up at the Department of Immigrations just as we left the next day.

Tomfl, you get the point.

Regarding Seaworthy, under types of losses covered, it states, "We will pay for property damage to the insured boat, its engines and items listed...from any accidental cause...". The exclusions also state it will not cover, "any cost of a repair or replacement of a part which fails as a result of a defect in manufacture or construction; however, we will cover consequential property damage that results from such failure if not otherwise excluded."

Think about that "however" on a less than five year old vessel with excellent maintenance records. If something indirectly caused the engine failure accidentally or through some defective part, then the engine is covered. The failed part would then be out of our pocket. So it is a valid claim and Seaworthy is covering the cost of the investigation which includes pulling the engine. It's only when the diagnostics are finalized that we will know for certain what our end costs will be. But getting us home and covering diagnostics has made us big Seaworthy fans. And the customer service is second to none. We are grateful for any savings and the support we've received.

Hope that makes sense! I will try not to get sucked back in to this thread again. :P

[s/v 'Faith']

Nothing negative from me intended Three Sheets, my post was directed at the idea customs had to be complicit in your situation.

I have said before, and say again I am glad you are back safe and hope it all works out well for you...

My point was that there need not have been a conspiracy at work.

Fair winds,

[s/v 'Faith']

FWIW,

I just received this reply from BASRA;

The BASRA Office is closed for Good Friday and Easter Monday. The Operations Manager does not work weekends and will respond to e mails on Tuesday.

Will update as I hear more.

[CSY Man]

If something indirectly caused the engine failure accidentally or through some defective part, then the engine is covered.

Hmm, I may have to look at my policy too, Boat US.
Seem like most "saltwater in the cylinder" problems are caused by anti-siphon valves (vacuum breaker) that got clogged with salt or just failed. They should be washed with fresh water frequently but not sure any engines maintenance or boat's service manual specifies that...?

[Three Sheets]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Hmm, I may have to look at my policy too, Boat US.
Seem like most "saltwater in the cylinder" problems are caused by anti-siphon valves (vacuum breaker) that got clogged with salt or just failed. They should be washed with fresh water frequently but not sure any engines maintenance or boat's service manual specifies that...?

Many are caused by that and although I don't think it is specified as a maintenance item, Mike checked it as part of his normal routine maintenance. But we really have to wait for a full diagnostic before we know for sure.

S/V Faith...no worries, I didn't take your tone as being critical. I was just agreeing with you.

[Paul L]

Well I really hope that you get covered somehow on the insurance side. Do let us know. I would not have even thought to try and claim water in the engine - but if your claim works out and I am ever so unlucky, I sure will now. It will be interesting to see how much damage was actually done to the engine, as lots of engines get an internal seawater bath and survive for many more years of service.