Rates

 

• I charge by the day: Because of the vagaries of the weather, most skippers favor a rate/day concept. If a skipper were to work for a ‘flat fee’ and the weather became marginal, there are people who would drive a boat hard through a storm with less regard for the wellbeing of the crew and boat, driven by the ‘fixed fee’ rather than sit it out at anchor or alongside, or take a more sheltered route.

 

• Should unforeseen stops become necessary, they will be fully explained, and reasons documented. (This is normally due to breakdown or weather, although I did call in to Bermuda once to drop off a very sick member of the crew.)

 

• My rates are very simple: A fixed fee/day plus all expenses for travel (to include rental car, taxis, flights, etc), food etc for me and my crew.

 

• Full explanations will be given to you in real time via satellite communications for all unforeseen decisions that impact safety of people, the boat, timing etc.

 

• 'Travel' for all crew is taken as: ‘to and from their house’. I have a database of crew up and down the east coast and attempt to minimize everyone’s travel.

 

• Time Charged: The clock starts when I leave home, and end when I return home. In consideration of the amount of time taken prior to departure in planning and shopping etc, for charging purposes, there are no 'part' days, only whole days.

Deposit
 

• I ask for a deposit up front, prior to sailing. The remainder to be paid upon receipt of the final bill.

 

• The deposit is there to ‘focus everyone’s minds’ and ensure the highest confidence possible is given to the dates reserved.

 

• Prior to a deposit being taken, a trip is considered only to be in the ‘discussion’ stage.  Once a deposit is taken, dates which until that point have been penciled in are considered ‘inked in/confirmed’, and no other booking will be taken for that period. From this explanation, it can be seen that during discussion - other bookings that do include a deposit may be taken for that period. 

Cancellation
 

• If you cancel the delivery, all this amount will be returned minus any unavoidable expenses incurred up to the point of cancellation.

 

• If I have to cancel (sickness, family reasons etc), I will return all the deposit (minus any unavoidable expenses to date) and make every effort to source a replacement skipper.

Invoice
 

• Please settle the invoice upon receipt.

• Every effort will be made to supply a receipt for every single charge made on the bill. The only times I have failed in the past to get a receipt is from the taxi drivers in the Caribbean!