Posted by Jake on April 06, 2004 at 09:10:57:
In Reply to: What happened to a reasonable trip to Catalina? posted by AD on April 04, 2004 at 09:53:23:
Don't use his boat anymore, charter with another boat, but let him know why you are not going to go with his boat. Better yet, let everyone know why the boat is lousy. The market system does work, most of the time.
Boats have different personalities. Ventura had several good boats and a share of bad ones over the years. Liberty was a great boat, while I would set foot aboard Spectre after being treated with all the kindness most New Yorkers show an out-of-towner on the subway. My experience on the appropriately-named boat was absolutely awful. The crew was rude and they conducted what I consider to be less than safe operations in the name of expediency. The old Sea Ventures was a great no-frills boat with the kind of casualness that is rare on board today's boats and at a price that even a burger flipper could afford. Barbara Marie was in a class by herself. And who can forget Bold Contender. Try the Truth Aquatics boats out of SB. I have never had a bad trip on any of those boats and they actually seemed to appreciate my business.
Of course, if you are on a cattle boat like don't be surprised if you are treated like a dumb cow.