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What an Adventure - Bowman Yacht Charters

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• Bowman Yacht Charters

A very well run and relaxed operation with boats well looked after and in good condition. The... read more

I have already posted a review on Google but having read the rather miserable review below, I... read more

What an Adventure

We chartered Sunny for two weeks from 21st July to 4th August. Wow! What an experience. The weather forecast was not great with numerous lows sweeping through but we planned carefully and set off. A great run down to Cawsand Bay in Plymouth and then a 90 mile sail to St Peter’s Port, Guernsey. Arrived tired but the harbour staff will always squeeze you in! Then a day sail around Herm and back to harbour to sit out the next storm. Then a great sail to Braye Harbour in Alderney, passing through the Swinge channel. The forecast then made us come home a day earlier than planned. An 18-25 knot forecast turned into 25-40 knots on the nose for the 80 mile crossing to Dartmouth but Sunny took it in her stride, helped by the excellent maintenance and support of Bowman Yacht Charters. Two 60 mile hops back to Falmouth, and we were done! A great adventure all in all, despite the weather. I cannot recommend Cyprian, Jake and Bowman’s highly enough. The boats are well maintained, and presented. The advice is given freely and is sound. I will be using them again. PS. I have no axe to grind here but I need to give some advice to “tylerhsteele” following his totally unfair review below: - 1. Check your boat before you leave. The reason you lost your outboard is because you failed to check that it was fixed and secured before you left. We sailed in 25-40 knots for 14 hours and our outboard was still there at the end. Your fault. End of. 2. Plan your trip and do your research. There were two gale warnings forecast during your week long charter. Yet you still sailed to the Scilly Isles. Utter madness. Read any Pilot book and it will tell you there is precious little shelter there and it is a place for settled weather only. I heard that you suffered 3 metre swells on your trip home. That’s because that’s the open Atlantic Ocean you were sailing in. Not a place for a clearly inexperienced sailor like yourself.

We chartered Mojo for a week in July 2023. Despite bad weather on Saturday, we made it out in sun and F4 conditions on Sunday. About an hour into our sail, with an easy breeze over the starboard beam and 5-10 degrees of heel, the outboard motor fell off its mount and into the sea. We had done a visual inspection of the motor and mount, which looked as expected. We did not touch or move the motor or its mount, fatally trusting that the yacht operators had secured it correctly. And not only had it been improperly mounted, Bowman Yacht Charter had neglected to attach a safety line so we had no opportunity to recover it after it came loose. I promptly reported this to Cyprian, who said he would not bring a replacement. The worst surprise came days after our charter had ended, when Cyprian informed me that I would be paying to rectify the mistake of whoever had failed to properly secure the motor, to the tune of nearly a thousand pounds. He made a vague attempt to blame the loss on "inexperienced crew in fairly poor conditions" both of which he knew to be false, and which he did not contest when asserted the truth. Cyprian was unapologetic for sticking me with the bill for his own company's mistake, simply stating "this is why we take deposits." I knew that I was taking a risk by chartering with Bowman. I had heard many reports of poor yacht preparation and faulty equipment, but of course there is very little competition in the area, so I rolled the dice and lost. I have disputed the charge with American Express, but will likely need to continue to small claims court to reclaim what is an obvious abuse of the charter deposit. I will update here if there is a fair resolution to this issue.

Dear Tyler, We are deeply sorry that you felt it necessary to write this review. As a small family run business, it is disheartening to receive a 1 star review, especially as 95% of our clients award us a 5 star rating. I note that in your email to us you said: “Thanks again for a good charter experience, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly despite the inclement weather last week.” We are very aware that the success of our business is dependent on the trust our customers place in us to provide a safe, happy and straightforward service. We like to extend that trust both ways and deal in honesty and good faith. We make a point of being truthful, open and constructive and, if we make mistakes on our side, we admit to them. We take yacht preparation very seriously. We check all our boats thoroughly each time they return from charter and again prior to being handed over for the next charter. Our staff are diligent and always go the extra mile to ensure that our clients have a great experience. Our terms and conditions clearly present details of the purpose of the security deposit: “The security deposit shall be retained by Bowman Yacht Charters and may be set against the cost of repairing any loss or damage to the Yacht or its equipment which occurred during the charter period, or any liability from damage to third party property, and which is not recovered under the Yacht’s insurance.” We thank you for your suggestion to put safety lines on the outboards. Warmest Regards The BYC Team

I have already posted a review on Google but having read the rather miserable review below, I thought it would be nice to post an alternative view for balance. At the beginning of August, we chartered the 35 ft Alcyone for one week from Cyprian and his team at Bowman YC. On arrival, we unloaded our car which was then valet parked for us (great service and well worth it, considering how difficult it is to park in Falmouth). We then went through a thorough technical briefing with Jake before departing for Helford River for the night. We then spent the next day sailing to the Scilly Isles in glorious weather. Alcyone had a new suit of sails and we managed the 60 nm journey, departing at 5am and arriving at 4:30pm. We spent the week sailing around the Scillys and anchoring or mooring in various locations. The dinghy and its brand new outboard motor did us proud. Alcyone was faultless. We particularly liked the very clear tags on the anchor chain with clear labelling so you knew exactly how much chain you had let out. It is also one of the few charter boats we have hired with a rope hook to take the load off the winch motor, thus ensuring no creaking at night. Alcyone was presented to us in a clean and working state. It is a perfect boat for a couple to sail. We arrived back on the Saturday morning and were met at the fuel dock by Jake. We moored up and went through the debrief. Cyprian bought our car around and off we went. In summary, possibly the best yacht charter we have experienced in 30 years of sailing all over the World. So good we have already booked Sunny for a fortnight next July. I would not hesitate to recommend Bowman Yacht Charter to you.

Thank you for your kind words. We look forward to welcoming you back to Falmouth next year. BYC

REVIEW Unfair Contract Despite securing a 5 day booking in mid August, we were told that our booking was double booked and had to be moved to September, in favour of someone else’s 7 day booking. No apology, no goodwill gesture. So my wife and I have just spent 6 days (not 7 days as advertised and paid for) on sv MOJO chartered through new owners Bowman’s YC. We previously sailed on MOJO for 4 years when it was managed by Flexisail at Hamble. I was required to pay an upfront Statutory cleaning charge, although the boat wasn’t properly cleaned at handover. But upon exit, I noted that you have to complete a checklist which included ‘cleaning’. So whilst we took 3 hours cleaning the whole boat, we have raised the issue with Bowman’s that they can’t have it both ways by charging and enforcing the checklist cleaning requirement. I also had to fix some of the faults, as the bow thruster was inoperable, furling/reefing lines and outboard motor unreliable. Having paid £70.00 each for 2 dogs (for extra cleaning), this is extortion and contradiction at its greediest and the owners bear no shame for these unreasonable demands. Also they charge PayPal charges for the deposit return, despite this being their banking choice. They have no respect for the customer and clearly don’t want repeat business, just your money. Totally dishonourable and certainly not a way to run a business.

Dear Robert As a small family run business, it is disheartening to receive a 1 star review, especially as 93% of our clients award us a 5 star rating. DOGS: You smuggled your dogs on board without declaring them in breach of our Terms & Conditions, but you were seen. The Terms and Conditions and the Booking Form clearly state that dogs incur a £70 surcharge per dog. We had been in close contact since May, by email and telephone, yet despite this you neglected to inform us about your dogs. Having had "an amazing time" in the Scillies and promising to “return next year” (your words), you decided to leave the boat early on the 23rd September, stating that you wanted to "miss the traffic". You left the boat 5 hours early on the 7th, not the 6th day of charter, at 7am, to smuggle your dogs off the boat without our knowledge. We therefore then deducted the fee for two dogs from your deposit. BOOKING: You booked online on the 1st May for a 5 day charter and we responded to you, by email, indicating that there was a booking system problem and that you had been double booked. As a solution, we offered you the same dates aboard a sister ship. You asked us to furnish you with alternative dates as you wanted Mojo and voluntarily chose to increase the duration of the charter from 5 days to 1 week at a later date. You had the option of a 5 day duration. CLEANING FEE: Also listed in our Terms and Conditions and the booking form, is the compulsory cleaning fee of £60. We expect the boat to be left in a seamanlike fashion, washing up done, surfaces wiped and lockers tidy. We don't, however, expect clients to conduct a deep clean. YACHT CONDITION: At handover you were informed that we were waiting for a part for the bow thruster and you decided that you would sail without it. You signed the Handover form saying that you were happy with the condition of the boat and the information that had been passed on to you by BYC. On your return you also signed the Return document, albeit in the absence of BYC, stating that you had no issues with the boat. It is difficult to understand why, when given the opportunity to bring to our attention any issues or defects you might have noticed, that you failed to do so. PAYPAL CHARGE: We gave you the opportunity to pay for the dogs by BACS, in which case we would have refunded your entire deposit with no paypal charge. However, you didn't respond. For the benefit of other customers who may read this response - we do accept normal BACS bank transfers as well as Paypal for the security deposit. As a final note, we are very aware that our customers place trust in us to provide a happy, safe, straightforward service. We like to extend that trust both ways and deal in good faith. We make a point of being open and constructive and, if we make mistakes on our side, we admit to them. Our charges represent direct and actual expenses, so it is disappointing for you to accuse us of nickel-and-diming you, especially in light of the tissue of distortions, half-truths, exaggerations and omissions that make up a malicious "review". BYC

We had a day trip with skipper (which is rarely available for yachts) and everything was just perfect. Our skipper (Martin) was very experienced, super-professional about safety … and had a wonderful sense of humor. Great day on the water even if the yacht itself needed a little bit of maintenance (sails due for a change, but OK-ish for that level of sailing)

Dear Nicolas, Thank you for your kind review and your feedback has been heard! BYC

Another great week on Alcyone, on charter from Bowman, great mix of professionalism with a calm approach. Little problems quickly solved. Boat in good nick and very well equipped, outstanding sailing area, looking forward to another charter in due course. Highlight this year seeing the star Alcyone rising over the Helford from the deck of the yacht Alcyone.

Thanks again Simon. Very good to see you and we look forward to being of service to you again soon. BYC