Honolulu Sailing Company

On October 17/I first began email conversations with Mr regarding doing a bare boat charter on our [redacted] ***Subsequent emails we worked out the starting date and he said he was somewhat flexible as they hadn't booked flights yet, as we had asked to move his starting date up a day to the eigth of July.This starting date was later confirmed on June1st The last email I received from him was July and he said he wanted to board at noonAlso let it be known after reviewing our emails there was no mention that there would be young children aboard which had a great influence what I thought of their idea to circumnavigate the island of Kauai.The other issue is we let him know on July that the refrigeration repairs would not be finished on the boat he was signed up to charter which is a newer boat without any of theissues on the alternate boat that he chose to charter instead, in spite of the fact we would have it all packed with ice and would have a additional [redacted] cooler known to hold additional ice up to days more.When he came down to the alternate boat he came with his wife and two young children, that was a surprise to me and fortunately I had fresh bedding onboard our other boat for them.I exlained to them why I thought because they had young children on board that I did not think it was a good idea to circumnavigate around the island as there are no pristine anchorages beyond Hanalei Bay, just commercial ports such as Port Allen and Nawiliwili harborAlso, I explained to them that the currents and choppy seas can make for many many hours of slow going and not ideal for family funIt's okay for an all adult advanced sailing class, orchallenging cruisingI Tried to convince them that Oahu had much better anchorages for family fun but they were set on doing The Kauai cruise..I have personally circumnavgated Kauai both clockwise and counter clockwise and have doneseveral cruises to Hanalei Bay and the Na Pali coast and back to Oahu without circumnavigatingI spent a reasonable amount of time going over the charts and all the equipment and safety equipment that was on board including a gps, binoculars, hand held and Built in ship to shore radios, all the bilge pumps both electric and manualI also pointed out That we had a seal leak in the raw water pump and yes, it was a nuisance but would not be a Hazardous leak which my certified mechanic assured me and could easily be controlled by shutting off the engine water intake when the engine was not in useAlso in the briefing was inspection of all the running and standing rigging most of them had been replaced in recent yearsAlso this yacht sported near brand new sailsAll hatches and ports could be dogged down properly, and yes some of them needed a little help to stay open and yes with all best intentions a couple might leak a bit with heavy water coming on the boatAs I explained to them this is a boat that was built in and would certainly have a higher.chance to develop Problems then a much younger vessel and if they were to charter it that they may need handyman skills to keep her goingI felt confident sailing this boat and had just completedA five day cruise the week before with no issues except for the aforementioned quirks the boat already hadAfter this briefing they agreed to sign the bareboat contract which had the dates to charter between July 8-After pointing out the above and having the boat at their disposalThat whole first day I'm surprised they wouldn't reconsider taking the other boat instead.Another point of contention I wish to bring up is about the fuel and water tanks.I've owned this vessel for years and have always known it has a gallon tank.When we talked about tank sizes we discussed the water tanks and I told them there are two tanks which hold gallons gallons in each tank and the fuel tank holds gallons so there was somemiscommunication there.they calculated or hours of engine running time whichI consider excessive for the amount of time they were on the water and when the boat was backin its slip it took gallons to fill it so my estimate of 3/gallons per hour was a little off as it was actually gallons per hour.Also it confirms that the fuel tank was full at the start of their charter.They only had to look at the boats readily accessible manual that what I said was true that it's a gallon tank.The engine manual is I believe based on the engine being installed on a heavy displacement Vessel (1.75gph) rather than this light displacement vessel.With gallons left n the tank and with it sloshing aroundall night a prudent skipper then would Check on the primary filter bowl and bleed it to remove any water and or sludge and even change the filter if necessary (spares always onboard) before starting.up.He was now in the Lee of West Oahu where there are some flat spots in the wind,Patient sailors will always have wind again as the forecast was continued tradewnds in mid to high teensWhen I received his phone calls which came in very early when Iwas asleep I called him back with the above forecast and plan to just sail back to Kewalo Harbor and we'd arrange a tow the last mile into the harbor.Not knowing exactly what the engine problemswere we would not recommend towing into Ko'olina Harbor which is far away from Kewalo whenthere is plenty of good sailing wind in the area.I suggested if they were tired they out to "hove too" and take a nap This is a method of lying ahull without dropping the sails.He told me he was fine and had plenty of energy.This was around 9:30am and when I reached them about a Mile from our harbor it was about 4:30pm July 14so it was about a hour sailwhich is a decent timeTo do this sail as it is an upwind sail and requires a lot of tacking.See the enclosed photos of this vessel under sail before the tow began.We also had plenty of communication both on the ship to shore radio and cell phone as it took quite a while to explain to them how to set up a proper towing bridle.Once that was done it was an easy tow in.During the day I told him that he would need to be closer to our marina before the tow could start and gave him some advice on when to make tacks to make his upwind sail more efficient.When we arrived at the harbor I cast them loose so they could drift into the slip.By the time I had the other boat secured they had already tied up, the children were off the boat and walking around.He said he had had enough of boating and would meet in the morning.I assumedthey would stay on the boat and would have the mechanic come down in the morning to access the engine situation.I told him I had to make a provision run for the other boat as we had booked a two day charter leaving the following morning The following day we met and he went through his list of deficiencys, most of them I had communicated with him at the beginning of the charter.One I missed was the stern light going out and an issue with the outboard whichwas resolved and working The other was the diinghy not havino a keel and the airfloor leakingThe primary use of the dinghy is to get to shore and back.The keel is nice but not really necessary when you are using ahorse outboard or paddling.We have 2sets of paddlesSo everyone could easily paddle this boat to shore and back because the boat itsellf does notleak.There is still a floor in the boat so water cannot come in.You can buy inflatabledinghys without keels at West MarineFor the record we had a new airfloor on order but there Was a shipping delayThey are nice but reallly not necessary as you sit on the pontoon part of the dinghyThis is a 10'6" high quality mercury hypalon model.Back to the dripping raw water pump.Itold him in advance about it and showed it to himalso told him we had a rebuild kit on its way and I had just sailed the boat on a five day tripWith no issues with dealing with the dripping and I also talked to the mechanic about it and he said yes it's a nuisance but would not be a hazardAlso we had brand new ***batteries installed last January and had no issues with them either on the last trip or any other cruises since they were installedIcan onlyguess because I was not there that the auto pilot was used way too much when under sail which would put a heavy load on these batteries.In the briefing before this charter I explained to him the risk he would be taking sailing so far away from our base that we had no chase boat to come after them if they had problems and were they sure they wouldn't like to have a captain with intimate knowledge of the boat and Hawaiian waters.They declined.Next, the aft head I told them not to flush it in shallow waters because it had no holding tank because the boat was built in France long before holding tanks became an issue and we had no place to install one.Only the forward tank had room to install a small oneThe door to the aft Toilet could be easily locked from the outside.The dinghy or tender already coveredFouled

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:We do not accept the response from Honolulu Sailing This is because we do not believe that Honolulu Sailing advertised their services honestly or have (both at the time and during this complaints process) told the truth about their bareboat yacht charter businessFurthermore, we do not believe that Honolulu Sailing embodied integrity in their dealing with us during and after our charter with them.In summary, our family made an agreement with Honolulu sailing (based upon their advertising) for a specific boat, specific itinerary, with a specific crew (our family) on a specific date Just before arrival, we discovered that the agreed boat was no longer functioning adequately to charter for eight days And on arrival, we discovered that Honolulu Sailing no longer recommended the itinerary, and were not expecting the crew or dates that we had agreedThe section below provides a point by point rebuttal to the Honolulu Sailing complaint response provided by Mike M [redacted] (of behalf of Honolulu Sailing) to Revdex.com (Revdex.com) 1: Start DateWe have attached the origial charter application The emails attached outline the price enquiry, application, payment of the deposit and confirmation of the start date as Sunday the 9th of July an not the 8th of July that Mike had.On the 2nd of June 2017, Mike M [redacted] emailed (attached) to say that the paperwork was on the way He never emailed through the paper work and we filled it out in person on the 8th of July If Mike had of forward us the paperwork, then perhaps he would have realised that the start date was Sunday the 9th of July.Mike M [redacted] confirmed his knowledge of out Kauai circumnavigation in an email (attached) on June the 2nd 2017, where he let us know how long it would likely take to sail from Nawiliwili harbor to West Oahu2: Passengers Onboard & ItineraryHonolulu Sailing: “Also let it be known after reviewing our emails there was no mention that there would be young children on board which has a great influence what I thought of their idea to circumnavigate the island of Kauai”.Rebuttal: Attached is our Charter application form supplied to Honolulu Sailing on the 24th November The form clearly states our desired itinerary (Kauai circumnavigation), and the age, qualifications and relevant experience of all crew members, specifically that there were two children on board aged and 11.In addition, the ‘idea’ to circumnavigate Kauai is a proposed itinerary on the Honolulu Sailing website Attached or at [redacted] There are no cautions on the page with regards to children, and the suitability of this passage is also supported by recent cruising guides We obviously realised that if the weather was unseasonably high winds (e.ga tropical storm), then any trip may not be possible.As a family, we specifically prepared for this particular itinerary and read all available material & charts to prepare a passage plan and ourselves for the passage we would be making It came as a surprise to us upon first meeting with Mike that he did not recommend we follow the itinerary promoted on his site.Note: We deferred to Mikes recommendation and did not circumnavigate KauaiInstead we adhered to his suggestion that we go to Hanalei Bay and then return to explore the other anchorages on Oahu Thus making it far longer between harbors to reful the vesselProvision of Alternate VesselHonolulu Sailing: “The other issue is that we let him know on July 5th that the refrigeration repairs would not be finished on the boat he was signed up to charter which is a newer boat without any of the issues on the alternate boat that her chose to charter instead.”Rebuttal: The primary reason that we elected to take the alternate boat was that we did not want to be off shore for eight days without a functioning fridge We elected to take the alternative yacht suggested by Mike as the agreed vessel was not available in the condition as advertised (with a fridge / freezer), so we believed that it was our only viable choice Mike verbally assured us that the second option was just as suitable as he had recently used it for a charter, and advised us that it was in fact better as it is a slightly larger vesselWe sent Mike M [redacted] an email (attached) on the 4th of July confirming that we would make contact on Saturday the 8th of July to make sure everything was AOK In Mike’s response, he said that the yacht we had booked was having trouble with the fridge and gave us two options: have no fridge and take several loads of ice on the original yacht, or take a different yacht (Beneteau first 42.7)We considered the options (no mention of the second yacht having issues and not being fit for the journey we intended to make) ,and we chose the yacht with a working fridge, as outlined in our email to Mike on the 6th of July Quality of Alternate VesselHonolulu Sailing: “In summary he should have taken the other boat as dealing with some ice would have been a lot easier.” And “After pointing out the above {deficiencies in the alternate vessel} and having the boat at their disposal the whole first day I’m surprised they wouldn’t reconsider taking the other boat instead.”Rebuttal / Comment: The deficiencies of the alternate vessel are well documented in our original complaint, and we continue to stand by them The above statements from Mike appear to support this argument also In addition, we would like to point out that it was not possible to ascertain certain deficiencies until we were underway For example, it is difficult to anticipate that a battery will only hold charge for the autopilot until you have removed shore power, that the engine burns fuel at a higher rate than Mike discussed (see attached [redacted] burn rate for the engine) or that hatches leak, or don’t seal, until it starts to rain.The vessel was not suitable for a bareback charter and should never have been presented as an alternative to the agreed vessel.At no point before leaving did Honolulu say or recommend that we should not take the boat,that it was a lesser boat than the original one that we had booked, or that the boat was not fit for bareboat charteringFuel TanksHonolulu Sailing: “The other point of contention I wish to bring up is about the fuel and water tanks I’ve owned this vessel for years and have always known it has a gallon tank When we talked about tank sizes we discussed the water tanks and I told the there are two tanks which hold gallons gallons in each tank and the fuel tank holds gallons so there was some miscommunication there.”Rebuttal: We maintain that Mike told us that there was US Gallons (USG) of fuel and USG's of water – as he said, more than enough for the entire trip He said that at revs, the engine used gallons per hour, and followed up with we had hours of motoring As no formal documentation was provided to us, we duly wrote this down and kept a log of our motoring hours with the intention of refilling the fuel tank once we had motored around hours We were running the engine at lower speeds (around revs) sometimes when we were sailing and this would have used less fuel.Our logs have us motoring for 27hrs, and if we were using gallons per hour (as hypothesised by Mike) then the likely reason for the engine stopping is that we ran out of fuel We would never have voluntarily placed ourselves in this position, especially as we knew we would be a long way from any refuelling stations If we had known that we only had gallons of fuel we would have charted a different passage or travelled with spare fuel We maintain that Mike provided us with incorrect information.The attached engine specification from [redacted] (attached) also discredits Mike’s claim The chart shows that if the engine runs at revs then it would use around gallons per hour, a lot more than Mike’s We have confirmed this in New Zealand by discussing the fuel consumption with the owner of the same engine with a similar sized yacht and they confirmed that running the engine at revs would used about (US) gallons per hourOne reason that the yacht we chartered may have used more fuel than Honolulu Sailing envisaged would be casued by the addional drag caused by the extensive weed and barnacles that was on the hull, rudder and propeller (see photo) SummaryWe have bareboat chartered a number of yachts in the past, understand the risks involved, and that things can go wrong during the trip We have extensive coastal and offshore sailing experience and qalifications, and do routine maintanance on our own foot yachtThe yacht that Honolulu Sailing provided us to sail for the intended passage, was not, and as Mike M [redacted] himself offered , and should not be used for bareboat chartering Yes, we were on the boat for five nights (we even photographed a turtle feasting on the weed growing on the keel), but with mutiple leaks, running out of fuel, broken equipment and general poor maintanance on the boat, the journey was the worst vacation experience we have ever had We are most grateful that we had the support and constant reassurance of the US Coastguard advocating on our behalf to get us back to the Marina, when Mike would not offer any form of support.In our opinion, Honolulu sailing have acted in an untrustworthy manner during our dealing with them, did not advertise the voyage properly, have not told the truth prior, during and after our charter, have been unclear and misleading in their communications with seeming ulterior motives, have not been responsive to our questions and concerns, and have not acted honourably in dealing with us.We beleave that Honolulu Sailing should be held accountable for their actions, product and behaviour, so that they will think twice before acting in a similar manner with other customers.Desired Settlement:We would like Honolulu Sailing to refund the full amount of the charter ($3,796.84) plus $1,for our additional accommodation.Attached:- Charter application showing two adults and two children booked for the Kauai circumnavigation- Charter date email showing the agreed start date- Honolulu Sailing Kauai itinerary from their website- [redacted] engine fuel consumption showing USG per hour- Weed on hull photo Sincerely [redacted]

On October 17/2016 I first began email conversations with Mr   regarding doing a bare boat charter on our [redacted]. Subsequent emails we worked out the starting date and he said he was somewhat flexible as they hadn't booked flights yet, as we had asked to move his starting date up a day to...

the eigth of July.This starting date was later confirmed on June1st 2017. The last email I received from him was July 7 and he said he wanted to board at noon. Also let it be known after reviewing our emails there was no mention that there would be young children aboard which had a great influence what I thought of their idea to circumnavigate the island of Kauai.The other issue is we let him know on July 5 that the refrigeration repairs would not be finished on the boat he was signed up to charter which is a newer boat without any of theissues on the alternate boat that he chose to charter instead, in spite of the fact we would have it all packed with ice and would have a additional [redacted] cooler known to hold additional ice up to 10 days more.When he came down to the alternate boat he came with his wife and two young children, that was a surprise to me and fortunately I had fresh bedding onboard our other boat for them.I exlained to them why I thought because they had young children on board that I did not think it was a good idea to circumnavigate around the island as there are no pristine anchorages beyond Hanalei Bay, just commercial ports such as Port Allen and Nawiliwili harbor. Also, I explained to them that the currents and choppy seas can make for many many hours of slow going and not ideal for family fun. It's okay for an all adult advanced sailing class, orchallenging cruisingI Tried to convince them that Oahu had much better anchorages for family fun but they were set on doing The Kauai cruise..I have personally circumnavgated Kauai both clockwise and counter clockwise and have doneseveral cruises to Hanalei Bay and the Na Pali coast and back to Oahu without circumnavigating. I spent a reasonable amount of time going over the charts and all the equipment and safety equipment that was on board including a gps, binoculars, hand held and Built in ship to shore radios, all the bilge pumps both electric and manual. I also pointed out That we had a seal leak in the raw water pump and yes, it was a nuisance but would not be a Hazardous leak which my certified mechanic assured me and could easily be controlled by shutting off the engine water intake when the engine was not in use. Also in the briefing was inspection of all the running and standing rigging most of them had been replaced in recent years. Also this yacht sported near brand new sails. All hatches and ports could be dogged down properly, and yes some of them needed a little help to stay open and yes with all best intentions a couple might leak a bit with heavy water coming on the boat. As I explained to them this is a boat that was built in 1995 and would certainly have a higher.chance to develop Problems then a much younger vessel and if they were to charter it that they may need handyman skills to keep her going. I felt confident sailing this boat and had just completedA five day cruise the week before with no issues except for the aforementioned quirks the boat already had. After this briefing they agreed to sign the bareboat contract which had the dates to charter between July 8-17. After pointing out the above and having the boat at their disposalThat whole first day I'm surprised they wouldn't reconsider taking the other boat instead.Another point of contention I wish to bring up is about the fuel and water tanks.I've owned this vessel for 16 years and have always known it has a 40 gallon tank.When we talked about tank sizes we discussed the water tanks and I told them there are two tanks which hold 150 gallons 75 gallons in each tank and the fuel tank holds 40 gallons so there was somemiscommunication there.they calculated 28 or 29 hours of engine running time whichI consider excessive for the amount of time they were on the water and when the boat was backin its slip it took 30 gallons to fill it so my estimate of 3/4 gallons per hour was a little off as it was actually 1.1 gallons per hour.Also it confirms that the fuel tank was full at the start of their charter.They only had to look at the boats readily accessible manual that what I said was true that it's a 40 gallon tank.The engine manual is I believe based on the engine being installed on a heavy displacement Vessel (1.75gph) rather than this light displacement vessel.With 10 gallons left n the tank and with it sloshing aroundall night a prudent skipper then would Check on the primary filter bowl and bleed it to remove any water and or sludge and even change the filter if necessary (spares always onboard) before starting.up.He was now in the Lee of West Oahu where there are some flat spots in the wind,Patient sailors will always have wind again as the forecast was continued tradewnds in mid to high teens. When  I received his phone calls which came in very early when Iwas asleep I called him back with the above forecast and plan to just sail back to Kewalo Harbor and we'd arrange a tow the last mile into the harbor.Not knowing exactly what the engine problemswere we would not recommend towing into Ko'olina Harbor which is far away from Kewalo whenthere is plenty of good sailing wind in the area.I suggested if they were tired they out to "hove too" and take a nap.  This is a method of lying ahull without dropping the sails.He told me he was fine and had plenty of energy.This was around 9:30am and when I reached them about a Mile from our harbor it was about 4:30pm July 14so it was about a 7 hour sailwhich is a decent timeTo do this sail as it is an upwind sail and requires a lot of tacking.See the enclosed photos of this vessel under sail before the tow began.We also had plenty of communication both on the ship to shore radio and cell phone as it took quite a while to explain to them how to set up a proper towing bridle.Once that was done it was an easy tow in.During the day I told him that he would need to be closer to our marina before the tow could start and gave him some advice on when to make tacks to make his upwind sail more efficient.When we arrived at the harbor I cast them loose so they could drift into the slip.By the time I had the other boat secured they had already tied up, the children were off the boat and walking around.He said he had had enough of boating and would meet in the morning.I assumedthey would stay on the boat and would have the mechanic come down in the morning to access the engine situation.I told him I had to make a provision run for the other boat as we had booked a two day charter leaving the following morning.  The following day we met and he went through his list of deficiencys, most of them I had communicated with him at the beginning of the charter.One I missed was the stern light going out and an issue with the outboard whichwas resolved and working.  The other was the diinghy not havino a keel and the airfloor leaking. The primary use of the dinghy is to get to shore and back.The keel is nice but not really necessary when you are using a3 horse outboard or paddling.We have 2sets of paddlesSo everyone could easily paddle this boat to shore and back because the boat itsellf does notleak.There is still a floor in the boat so water cannot come in.You can buy inflatabledinghys without keels at West Marine. For the record we had a new airfloor on order but there Was a shipping delay. They are nice but reallly not necessary as you sit on the pontoon part of the dinghy. This is a 10'6" high quality mercury hypalon model.Back to the dripping raw water pump.Itold him in advance about it and showed it to him. also told him we had a rebuild kit on its way and I had just sailed the boat on a five day tripWith no issues with dealing with the dripping and I also talked to the mechanic about it and he said yes it's a nuisance but would not be a hazard. Also we had 3 brand new [redacted]batteries installed last January and had no issues with them either on the last trip or any other cruises since they were installed. Ican onlyguess because I was not there that the auto pilot was used way too much when under sail which would put a heavy load on these batteries.In the briefing before this charter I explained to him the risk he would be taking sailing so far away from our base that we had no chase boat to come after them if they had problems and were they sure they wouldn't like to have a captain with intimate knowledge of the boat and Hawaiian waters.They declined.Next, the aft head I told them not to flush it in shallow waters because it had no holding tank because the boat was built in France long before holding tanks became an issue and we had no place to install one.Only the forward tank had room to install a small one. The door to the aft Toilet could be easily locked from the outside.The dinghy or tender already coveredFouled  bottom:yes she's due for a haul out and new bottompaint but we were still able to hit speeds of eight knots just a week before this charter beganFuel use and tamkage covered earlierWater in the fuel, Itold him he should check the primary filter every 3-4 days as that was what I had been doing. This was an issue he knew about before accepting this boat as opposed to his original choice of boat.Worn linesMost all lines on the boat have been replaced and the only worn one was a [redacted] with a spot that had been worn by a rope clutch but was now not on the business side of it.The main and [redacted]sheets which are especially important as well as the main hlyard are all near new.The preventor setup I showed him how to use also made a much better boom vang as well.Hatches and port lightsMany havebeen replaced,most importantly they all canbe securedto keep water and crittersout.   Two or three won't stay open withouta cup or something similar for air ventilation.There are fansin every cabin that allwork. Theone hatch that leaked is a newone too andit Is right above the foot of theforward bunk, suggested sheets turned down and or lay atowel down when sailing upwind.  There areno hatches coming apart!Lifelines worn:      See enclosed photos showing condition of these lines.          Yes,there is oneshort onein the backof the boatwith a missing wire strand. However, itis still incredibly strong.Note that this yacht also has safety harnesses one could wear and can be hooked up to a tether Which stretches from thebow to stern.Regarding the insurance request to stay at Ko'olina Harbor.             I old him that Kewalo Harbor has copies of our insurance and its common practice for one marina to call another to verify that we are insured.The skipper of this sailing vessel was in no danger because the engine would not start and the area he was in is not considered a lee shore which would be a danger if there was an adverse current with no wind.             I have raced many times along this coast which requires sailing only with no engine allowed.         Sure, there are some no wind spots but the breeze always comes back as the air comes down the many valleys along that coast and once you get down to the barbers Point area you are fine with steady wind all the way up towards Honolulu.                   I passed what info I could to the skipper regarding this leg of his cruise.Regarding the coast guard I have contacted them when I needed a tow and they putout a pan pan
notice to any mariner in the area that might be available for a short tow until more wind is found. Don't know why this option was not taken on his behalf.          He was way to far away from our base to do anything else.In Summary he should have taken the other boat as dealing with adding some ice would have been a lo easier.   He had control of the boat for six
out of nine days and we offered Him a refund for half of his charter (4.5 days) even though he only had three days leftl think this was more than fair as we also have an amendment in our bare boat charter. Agreement that allows us up to 24 hours to make repairs which we did not bring up.He and his family can add the trip to Hanalei Bay and theNa Pali coast to their bucket listAs one of theworlds premier cruising destinations which very fewworldwide sailors have ever Experienced.    I bet he
has some great photos to matchSincerely,Mike M[redacted] Honolulu Sailing LLCPs: This vessel is out into their third day with a [redacted] sailing instructor in Maui waters and report that engine and batteries all working well 8/1/17

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:We do not accept the response from Honolulu Sailing.  This is because we do not believe that Honolulu Sailing advertised their services honestly or have (both at the time and during this complaints process) told the truth about their bareboat yacht charter business. Furthermore, we do not believe that Honolulu Sailing embodied integrity in their dealing with us during and after our charter with them.In summary, our family made an agreement with Honolulu sailing (based upon their advertising) for a specific boat, specific itinerary, with a specific crew (our family) on a specific date.  Just before arrival, we discovered that the agreed boat was no longer functioning adequately to charter for eight days.  And on arrival, we discovered that Honolulu Sailing no longer recommended the itinerary, and were not expecting the crew or dates that we had agreed. The section below provides a point by point rebuttal to the Honolulu Sailing complaint response provided by Mike M[redacted] (of behalf of Honolulu Sailing) to Revdex.com (Revdex.com).  1: Start DateWe have attached the origial charter application.  The emails attached outline the price enquiry, application, payment of the deposit and confirmation of the start date as Sunday the 9th of July 2017 an not the 8th of July that Mike had.On the 2nd of June 2017, Mike M[redacted] emailed (attached) to say that the paperwork was on the way.  He never emailed through the paper work and we filled it out in person on the 8th of July 2017.  If Mike had of forward us the paperwork, then perhaps he would have realised that the start date was Sunday the 9th of July.Mike M[redacted] confirmed his knowledge of out Kauai circumnavigation in an email  (attached) on June the 2nd 2017, where he let us know how long it would likely take to sail from Nawiliwili harbor to West Oahu. 2: Passengers Onboard & ItineraryHonolulu Sailing: “Also let it be known after reviewing our emails there was no mention that there would be young children on board which has a great influence what I thought of their idea to circumnavigate the island of Kauai”.Rebuttal:  Attached is our Charter application form supplied to Honolulu Sailing on the 24th November 2016.  The form clearly states our desired itinerary (Kauai circumnavigation), and the age, qualifications and relevant experience of all crew members, specifically that there were two children on board aged 8 and 11.In addition, the ‘idea’ to circumnavigate Kauai is a proposed itinerary on the Honolulu Sailing website.  Attached or at [redacted]  There are no cautions on the page with regards to children, and the suitability of this passage is also supported by recent cruising guides.  We obviously realised that if the weather was unseasonably high winds (e.g. a tropical storm), then any trip may not be possible.As a family, we specifically prepared for this particular itinerary and read all available material & charts to prepare a passage plan and ourselves for the passage we would be making.  It came as a surprise to us upon first meeting with Mike that he did not recommend we follow the itinerary promoted on his site.Note: We deferred to Mikes recommendation and did not circumnavigate Kauai. Instead we adhered to his suggestion that we go to Hanalei Bay and then return to explore the other anchorages on Oahu.  Thus making it far longer between harbors to reful the vessel. 3. Provision of Alternate VesselHonolulu Sailing: “The other issue is that we let him know on July 5th that the refrigeration repairs would not be finished on the boat he was signed up to charter which is a newer boat without any of the issues on the alternate boat that her chose to charter instead.”Rebuttal:  The primary reason that we elected to take the alternate boat was that we did not want to be off shore for eight days without a functioning fridge.   We elected to take the alternative yacht suggested by Mike as the agreed vessel was not available in the condition as advertised (with a fridge / freezer), so we believed that it was our only viable choice.  Mike verbally assured us that the second option was just as suitable as he had recently used it for a charter, and advised us that it was in fact better as it is a slightly larger vessel. We sent Mike M[redacted] an email (attached) on the 4th of July confirming that we would make contact on Saturday the 8th of July to make sure everything was AOK.  In Mike’s response, he said that the yacht we had booked was having trouble with the fridge and gave us two options:1.     have no fridge and take several loads of ice on the original yacht, or2.     take a different yacht (Beneteau first 42.7)We considered the options (no mention of the second yacht having issues and not being fit for the journey we intended to make) ,and we chose the yacht with a working fridge, as outlined in our email  to Mike on the 6th of July 2017. 4. Quality of Alternate VesselHonolulu Sailing: “In summary he should have taken the other boat as dealing with some ice would have been a lot easier.” And “After pointing out the above {deficiencies in the alternate vessel} and having the boat at their disposal the whole first day I’m surprised they wouldn’t reconsider taking the other boat instead.”Rebuttal / Comment:  The deficiencies of the alternate vessel are well documented in our original complaint, and we continue to stand by them.  The above statements from Mike appear to support this argument also.  In addition, we would like to point out that it was not possible to ascertain certain deficiencies until we were underway.  For example, it is difficult to anticipate that a battery will only hold charge for the autopilot until you have removed shore power, that the engine burns fuel at a higher rate than Mike discussed (see attached [redacted] burn rate for the engine) or that hatches leak, or don’t seal, until it starts to rain.The vessel was not suitable for a bareback charter and should never have been presented as an alternative to the agreed vessel.At no point before leaving did Honolulu say or recommend that we should not take the boat,that it was a lesser boat than the original one that we had booked, or that the boat was not fit for bareboat chartering. 5. Fuel TanksHonolulu Sailing: “The other point of contention I wish to bring up is about the fuel and water tanks.  I’ve owned this vessel for 16 years and have always known it has a 40 gallon tank.  When we talked about tank sizes we discussed the water tanks and I told the there are two tanks which hold 150 gallons 75 gallons in each tank and the fuel tank holds 40 gallons so there was some miscommunication there.”Rebuttal: We maintain that Mike told us that there was 75 US Gallons (USG) of fuel and 150 USG's of water – as he said, more than enough for the entire trip.  He said that at 2500 revs, the engine used 0.75 gallons per hour, and followed up with we had 100 hours of motoring.  As no formal documentation was provided to us, we duly wrote this down and kept a log of our motoring hours with the intention of refilling the fuel tank once we had motored  around 30 hours.  We were running the engine at lower speeds (around 2000 revs) sometimes when we were sailing and this would have used less fuel.Our logs have us motoring for 27hrs, and if we were using 0.75 gallons per hour (as hypothesised by Mike) then the likely reason for the engine stopping is that we ran out of fuel.  We would never have voluntarily placed ourselves in this position, especially as we knew we would be a long way from any refuelling stations.  If we had known that we only had 40 gallons of fuel we would have charted a different passage or travelled with spare fuel.   We maintain that Mike provided us with incorrect information.The attached engine specification from [redacted] (attached) also discredits Mike’s claim.  The chart shows that if the engine runs at 2500 revs then it would use around 2 gallons per hour, a lot more than Mike’s 0.75.  We have confirmed this in New Zealand by discussing the fuel consumption with the owner of the same engine with a similar sized yacht and they confirmed that running the engine at 2500 revs would used about 2 (US) gallons per hour. One reason that the yacht we chartered may have used more fuel than Honolulu Sailing envisaged would be casued by the addional drag caused by the extensive weed and barnacles that was on the hull, rudder and propeller.  (see photo).    SummaryWe have bareboat chartered a number of yachts in the past, understand the risks involved, and that things can go wrong during the trip.  We have extensive coastal and offshore sailing experience and qalifications, and do routine maintanance on our own 47 foot yacht. The yacht that Honolulu Sailing provided us to sail for the intended passage, was not, and as Mike M[redacted] himself offered , and should not be used for bareboat chartering.  Yes, we were on the boat for five nights (we even photographed a turtle feasting on the weed growing on the keel), but with mutiple leaks, running out of fuel, broken equipment and general poor maintanance on the boat, the journey was the worst vacation experience we have ever had.  We are most grateful that we had the support and constant reassurance of the US Coastguard advocating on our behalf to get us back to the Marina, when Mike would not offer any form of support.In our opinion, Honolulu sailing have acted in an untrustworthy manner during our dealing with them, did not advertise the voyage properly, have not told the truth prior, during and after our charter, have been unclear and misleading in their communications with seeming ulterior motives, have not been responsive to our questions and concerns, and have not acted honourably in dealing with us.We beleave that Honolulu Sailing should be held accountable for their actions, product and behaviour, so that they will think twice before acting in a similar manner with other customers.Desired Settlement:We would like Honolulu Sailing to refund the full amount of the charter ($3,796.84) plus $1,367.55 for our additional accommodation.Attached:-        Charter application showing two adults and two children booked for the Kauai circumnavigation-        Charter date email showing the agreed start date-        Honolulu Sailing Kauai itinerary from their website-        [redacted] engine fuel consumption showing 2 USG per hour-        Weed on hull photo
Sincerely
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