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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Dave Southard
Yacht: Lagoon 380 "Annie's Toy" with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 12/18/11-12/26/11 with a sleep aboard 12/17/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
yes
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
yes
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
yes, except the can opener was very cheap and bent so easy it was without value
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
was fine for winter yatching but wind socks would be an improvement in the hot months
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
yes, James was great
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
yes, all of BVI except Anegada
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
no, you guys were great! Shopped for just the right yacht, answered all my questions.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
Our boat was a 2005 but was in beautiful shape, sails appeared new, all lines in good shape, no frays. Kitchen fully equipped, sheets and towels in good shape. The bimini needs replacing, has multiple leaks and it oozes rain all over, I guess the water proofing is shot on the cloth. All instruments functioned properly. One note: the literature stated Annies Toy has no input for MP3 players but it does. So bring your 3.5mm audio cord and plug in!
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Dave Morgan
Yacht: Lagoon 500 "Black Pearl" with The Catamaran Company - Tortola
Charter Dates: 10/15/11-10/25/11 with a sleep aboard 10/14/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes. We particularly appreciate the help we received from James concerning the furling jib problem.
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Yes
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Yes. The refrigeration was the best we have ever experienced during our 7 years of chartering from the Cat Company
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Yes
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Yes; we were familar with the Lagoon 500 from past charters. James did a good job on the orientation and was very friendly
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Yes
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
No. The staff was very responsive to our calls and solving problems. We particualrly appreciate James long trip to Jost VanDyke to correct the furling jib problem.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
We have chartered on 7 occasions from the Catamaran company. We keep coming back and hope to again in the near future.
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Rudy Morice
Yacht: Lagoon 420 "Waypoint" with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 8/6/11-8/13/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Very friendly and helpful!
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
The yacht was clean
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
We expected there would be a microwave oven on board. There wasn't one.
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Yes. AC at night was a good recommendation ( in spite of the noise of the generator)
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Yes
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Beautiful area. Can't wait to go back!
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
The staff from Virgin Island Sailing was very helpful, friendly, and provided us with very good information about everything we needed to know. They were very prompt responding to any questions we had.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
Overall we had a very good experience. This was our first cruise to this area and we loved every anchorage. Extremely beautiful part of the world! We were initially concerned about cruising with our two small children ( 2 and 6 year old) and with some uncertainties about the weather being into the hurricane season ( 2nd week of August). We had no problems with either. Our kids loved the trip, and although it took more preparation and watching after them, it was all a well worthy and enjoyable experience for all. The weather was great. We only encountered a couple of short showers. The rest of the time was sunny or only partly cloudy ( I guess we were very lucky).
Catco personnnel were friendly and helpful. The boat was very spacious ( certainly more space than we needed) and comfortable. I'm not one who complains about things and like to think positive, but in spite of an overall very good vacation, there were some issues with the yacht that could have made our charter more enjoyable: The yacht appeared aged beyond his stated age of 4 years. Lack of GPS ( although not promised) was a disappointment. We recognize GPS is not an absolute necessity for an area where visual navigation is relatively easy but having one would have helped alleviate some of the uncertainties of a crew not familiar with the area. Fortunately, I downloaded a program on my iPad from Navionics that worked very well. However, among nonworking items on the boat was the only 12V outlet in the cockpit. It was rusted and non-functioning and the iPad or other external device could not be maintained charged while navigating. At our first anchorage we found out the drain plug of the dinghy was missing ( Cactco personnel made a special trip to deliver one- we were grateful to them for this service). The tool box had no tools. I found this out when the fuel line of the dinghy was leaking and needed to splice it ( I was able to improvise with some of the kitchen utensils and got it fixed). Minor broken items like our showerhead holder were "annoying" inconveniencies. Also, the yacht was in desperate need of "bottom job" - long streams of algae and barnacles hanging from the hull were not pretty sights and smelled foul when swimming around the boat. Faded seating cushions with tears that had been "repaired" with duct tape also did not go along with the pristine ambiance of the blue Caribbean waters. In summary, we are grateful to Virgin Island Sailing team for all their help, we appreciate Catco's friendly personnel, and we loved the BVI. We are ready to go back. We would like to do it on a yacht that is better maintained.
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Ron Martin
Yacht: Lagoon 420 "Waypoint" with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 7/22/11-8/1/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes - Mynova, Sue, James and Patrick were all great!!
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
The boat was in good shape, but we did have a couple of unexpected mechanical issues along the way - portside gear problem, bad inverter and a busted fuel line on the dingy
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Everything was in order. Was missing one fork, so made a game of who 'earned' the plastic fork at night!
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Had a bit of a 'bilge smell' when we first arrived, but cleared out shortly afterwards (it IS a sailboat).
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
James ran us through the system pretty well. I did recommend labeling the jam cleats to make identifying halyards somewhat easier at the start. First day out it was blowing 33kts!
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Loved it! We sailed to Norman | Cooper | Salt | Marina Cay | The Baths | Bitter End | Cane Garden Bay | East Bay (Foxy's Taboo) | White Bay (Ivans and Soggy Dollar) | Sopers Hole | Road Town
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
Joann and the team were wonderful! I will definitely use VI Sailing again! My sons are already planning the next trip and we got back last night!!!
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
Despite a couple of mechanic problems, the CatCo crew (above) where awesome! They came out to us and had the repairs done super fast and got us going again without missing a beat (or a reach). :) I will use CatCo in the future and would love to sail Waypoint II again - or maybe that new 450! :)
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Bruce Bogardus
Yacht: Lagoon 420 "Waypoint" with The Catamaran Company - Tortola
Charter Dates: 7/1/11-7/11/11 with a sleep aboard 6/30/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes.
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
A few problems. CatCo's mechanic fixed most of them. Hatch in stbd aft cabin leaked and could not be fixed.
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Mostly.
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Deisel fumes in stbd aft cabin. Got extremely bad over time. CatCo mechanic fixed.
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Mostly.
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Very much. Especially the local people we met!
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
No.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
What an adventure! The local people were so friendly and helpful.
Most of the few major problems we experienced with the catamaran were fixed immediately by CatCo's mechanic who met us at the dock nearest to our location.
Some of the galley equipment was missing and some broken. But nothing that we could not do without. For example, the blender leaked and there were not enough plates and eating utensils for all. All minor problems that did not take away from the trip.
Overall, a spectacular charter! This was my first charter. VI Sailing did a great job of addressing all my concerns. The web site is very helpful, also. Thanks especially to Joann Higgins for her patience answering all my questions.
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. and Mrs. Eric Pfeifer
Yacht: Lagoon 450 "La Savane" (ck out skipper) with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 7/5/11 (noon) - 7/14/11 (10am)
Broker: Melody Delgado
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes, they were all great.
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Perfect.
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Well equiped and in great condition.
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Yes
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Yes
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Loved it!
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
We are trying to pick our week to set up for next year.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
The Catamaran Company did a great job again. They are very professional and the boat was in great working order. Previously, we had to wait for the boat to get ready. This year, they pushed us off the dock almost as soon as we arrived. We will rent from them next year.
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Roger Beggs
Yacht: Lagoon 500 "Sea Angel" with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 6/20/11 - 6/27/11 with a sleep aboard 6/19/11
Broker: Melody Delgado
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes. However, they made it clear that they were off duty at 5 PM. As it turned out, that worked out OK. I was worried we would be pinched for time to check out the boat and make our ferry to Charlotte Amalie.
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Yes. Everything worked!
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
There was more than I expected. But, there was no wine opener!
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Seemed to be. We sealed up at night with the air conditioning.
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
The gentleman that did our check out did a fantastic job. He told us everything we needed to know and didn't waste time with extra struff. It was perfect!
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Yes! The weather was good and the water was spectacular. It was perfect!
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
No. We were very satisfied with the process of selecting the boat and organizing the vacation.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
We were excited to find out that the boat had (3) electric 2-speed winches. This made raising the sail, furling the genoa and raising the dinghy so easy. We didn't mind raising the dinghy up every evening as suggested with the electric winches.
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. David Allred
Yacht: Lagoon 420 "Waypoint" with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 6/11/11-6/18/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Yes but windless stayed jammed.
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Yes but could not ever figure out how to light oven.
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Yes.
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Yes but a windless test would have uncovered an important issue.
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Yes.
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
No.
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Chris Davis
Yacht: Lagoon 420 "Shrek" with The Catamaran Company - Tortola
Charter Dates: 5/2/11 - 5/9/11 with a sleep aboard 5/1/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes, very laid back
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
yes, no GPS as promised however, but it all worked out fine
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
yes, more ice tray's
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
yes A/C worked great
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
yes
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
extremely
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
No, all was good
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Frank Henderson
Yacht: Lagoon 500 "Jack Sparrow" with The Catamaran Company - Tortola
Charter Dates: 4/14/11 - 4/22/11
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Yes
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
There was a probem with the port aft head. After flushing/pumping, it would fill back up with waste over time
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Yes
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Yes
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Yes
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Yes
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
Not today
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Mark Cannon
Yacht: Lagoon 440 "Castellina II" with check out skipper with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 11/6/10 - 11/13/10
Broker: Melody Delgado
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
yes
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
yes
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
yes, but toaster did not work
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
yes
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
yes
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
yes
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
no
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. and Mrs. JXXXX
Yacht: Lagoon 500 "Black Pearl" with The Catamaran Company - Village Cay, Tortola
Charter Dates: 10/21/10 - 10/30/10
Broker: Melody Delgado
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
Brilliant, Thanks
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Yes, a couple of issues but nothing serious. Discussed on our return for the next charter.
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Yes. Shortage of toilet brushes!
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
Air con!
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
Yes. Most thorough
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
Not sure - can I come back and check! Beautiful! Stunning!
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
Informed us of the difficulties getting fresh supplies suring last week of October. Would have bought more for the freezer
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
Boat sailed considerably better than we had anticipated. Great. We thought the space would inevitably compromise performance. How wrong we were.
Please feel free to post comments but not names etc
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
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BAREBOAT CHARTER REVIEW
Name: Mr. Michael Sellers
Yacht: Lagoon 420 "Shrek" with The Catamaran Company - Tortola
Charter Dates: 8/5/10 - 8/15/10
Broker: Joann Higgins
Area Cruised: Virgin Islands
We hope your charter lived up to your expectations and we are eager to have your evaluation and impressions of your yachting vacation. Please answer the following questions and add any comments you may have.
1. Were the staff at Catamaran Company friendly and accommodating?
yes
2. Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
yes
3. Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
yes
4. Was the boat well ventilated?
yes, however boat experienced a bad battery and caused an EXTREMELY STRONG rotten egg (sulfuric acid) smell on our last night.
5. Did the staff at Catamaran Company do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and it's equipment?
fair job. CAT CO briefer (Reed) not very familiar with the HYBRID operating characteristics/requirements of our cat (SV SHREK).
6. Did you like the area you cruised?
yes, absolutely!!
7. Could we at Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. have helped you further in any way?
no
8. May we post this review on our website?
Yes
9. Additional comments on your charter?
Extremely pleased with Virgin Island Sailing, Ltd. I would probably not charter another Hybrid Catamaran, however. It has special operating characteristics that probably most sailors would not prefer. Once our GENSET was broken and out of commission, we were limited in range and speed proportional to what power was left in the batteries (and the wind of course, which was <5kts true wind). Thankfully, the GENSET broke near a harbor. CAT CO was very responsive, however, and sent Patrick out to fix it. He troubleshot and fixed a faulty water pump in under and hour and sent us on our way. THANKS PATRICK!!
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2216 Lakeshore Drive Nokomis, Florida 34275
www.visailing.com, Email: info@visailing.com
Phone: 800.382.9666, 941.966.9387 Secure Fax Numbers: 866.813.1230, 212.500.0028 |
THE CATAMARAN COMPANY - LAGOON 380 - ANNIE'S TOY
THE CATAMARAN COMPANY - LAGOON 440 - VIDA DULCE
THE CATAMARAN COMPANY - LAGOON 500 - COMET
THE CATAMARAN COMPANY - LAGOON 380 - ANNIE'S TOY
THE CATAMARAN COMPANY - LAGOON 420 - SHREK
THE CATAMARAN COMPANY - LAGOON 500 - JACK SPARROW
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