Preveza Sailing yacht charter company

“Problematic charter”

We chartered a 2003 Sun Odyssey 35 in August 2023. Yes, I know and expected the yacht to have minor damages due to consecutive charges for many years but, there were more serious problems that seriously affected our charter. I must mention that I am not a novice charterer, I have owned a sailing yacht for 15 years, have been chartering yachts every year for over 20 years, have an RYA Yachtmaster certificate and I am a cruising instructor. I am also an RYA diesel engines and radar instructor. This is the first time ever that I had to write a bad review, other times I leave a kind note with a list of repairs to the base manager in order to fix minor problems. Following are the most annoying problems I have encountered: 1) from our first entry at the galley of the yacht, there was a strong diesel smell which the owner’s son justified as “the engine had been serviced a few hours ago” and said that it will faint away. The only ones almost fainting were the passengers as there was a continuous leak from the engine which also ended up in the bilges!!! Up until the end of the trip our clothes smelled diesel!!! I have reported this to the charter company and all they said is that the fuel filter might not have been set right! No mention of sending a mechanic immediately to our current mooring to fix it. 2) the autopilot was not locking nor responding properly. I have also pointed out this problem during the initial check but the manager’ son said that they didn’t get a complaint from the previous charterer and I seated they it works. It didn’t work, I have downloaded the ST4000+ manual and attempted all sorts of calibrations and adjustments but the problem was not solved. As a result, I had to be on the helm for a whole week and this was not easy as the weather was not as calm as it usually is in the Ionian! 3. the dinghy was leaking air and needed to be inflated before each trip. It also took in water so we could never have a dry ride! Imagine how frustrating it is to have to pump air and dry the bottom of the dinghy every time we went out! I was the spectacle of the bay whenever we went! I know that problems do come up during a charter but responsible and dependable companies have a network of partners throughout the surrounding area whom they call to assist in case there is any problem with the yacht. In this case the charter company had not attempted to help despite me pointing out the problems and letting them know of our next port of call in order to plan for a repair! In the end of the trip, after the return of the boat to the base, without any new damages, I was expecting, at least, a sincere apology from the owner, instead, he seemed to ignore us and had his son do the final paperwork. I have taken pictures of the above problems and have also the sms messages I have exchanged with the company. Would I charter another yacht from them? No, there are many other, bigger companies in the area, i am sure they will do better!