On the Move

As I do every day, sometimes many times a day, I checked on the position of the nominated vessel, Da Qiang. Low and behold, it was on the move. After three weeks of being stuck in Guayaquil, the vessel is heading north. 

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MarineTraffic.com reports that it is headed to Panama with a planned arrival on Christmas. What we do not know is if it going to continue on to Port Everglades to load our boat and take it to Victoria.

As usual, we have not received any updates from YachtPath in four days.

Currently the vessel is out of range of land based AIS receivers, so it will be tomorrow morning before we’ll be able to check its current position as it approaches Panama. Hopefully Santa will deliver us good news as the Da Qiang steams north.

What Can I Say?

I talked with Steve Fithian this morning after I had sent him the latest update from yesterday. The new latest schedule did not bear any resemblance to what he had been told by YachtPath. I asked if he would be so kind as to look into this and report back what YachtPath said today.

Steve did call and related that this vessel, the Da Qiang, is “the one”, it is one they have had scheduled all along and would definitely go and my boat would definitely be on it. After it leaves South America, it has a stop in Tampa and then on to Port Everglades. Steve has been great in going the extra mile to use his sources to help get to the truth.

Later this morning, I called Dennis Cummings, the president of YachtPath, as he had never called me back as he had promised, in writing, for the past two days. His reason why he did not “call back within the hour” is he had “Nothing to say”. Whatever!

The story Dennis is telling today is that the Da Qiang is anchored outside the Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador, which I knew, and where the boat has been anchored for the last week. 

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Da Qiang Swinging on Her Anchor

Apparently there is some problem with the letter of credit and it will not unload its cargo until that is resolved. Then it goes to Honduras to make a pickup and then direct to Port Everglades.

I see many holes in this plan. First, they are working on an extension of their pick-up schedule. If that gets cancelled due to the delay, then they will not come to Port Everglades. The latest date of December 26th is in serious jeopardy since, by my calculation, the boat would have to leave Guayaquil today to make it to Port Everglades by the 26th; and the plan assumes no delays.

So Dennis’ last promise is that he would do some calculations and see what the likely transit time is and send that to me. (Of course, I have already done this in advance, so I know the answer.) He would also send the latest update when he gets it from the shipping company.

Of course, I fully expect that none of this will happen. It if does, it would be a first.

The Saga Continues to Unfold

Yesterday I did a full court press to try to talk to Dennis, the president of YachtPath, to determine what the status of the shipment was. It has been two days since we had any update, and the nominated vessel is still sitting in Ecuador. And there is no way it could make it to Fort Lauderdale by the proposed date of December 20th.

After a flurry of messages left on his office phone and cell phone, I did get an email that we would call me “within the hour”. That did not happen. Then later in the day another email that we would call be “within the hour”. That too did not happen.

This morning I started leaving messages again and received an email that we would call “within the hour”. Since the email arrived about one minute after I left a message on his cell phone, I know he is getting the messages and simply dodging my inquires. That promise to call me was also broken. Do we see a pattern?

Then, around 1pm, the selling broker Steve Fithian, called to say that he had been talking with Kevin Cummings at YachtPath and he had been assured that my boat would be shipping on the 22rd of December. Steve had a tone in his voice that I had not heard before. He was happy and confident. Steve has been great throughout this process. He has been working behind the scenes, though the back door of YachtPath to help determine what was going on. This is the first time I have ever heard any degree of confidence in his voice.

I have to take this as a hopeful sign, but I’ll reserve any enthusiasm until Dennis calls me back, “within the hour, I promise”.

Keeping Our Fingers Crossed

Late this afternoon, after a two day hiatus of any information, we received and update form YachtPath. This note seemed more confident that the date now is December 20th. There was less about “we’re still waiting to confirm the details and get acceptance from the owners of the Da Qiang”, and more about here is the date. We've been down this path before, so we remain skeptical but here’s hoping.

According to MarineTraffic.com the Da Qiang is still at anchor in the river south of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

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According to my calculations the boat will need weigh anchor tomorrow if it is going to make its way through the Panama Canal and to Port Everglades by the 20th. I’ll keep an eye on it and call YachtPath tomorrow to test their conviction for the 20th. Once the boat starts moving northeast, I’ll start to believe this is actually going to happen. Do you see how close the arrival date is to Christmas? Our personal plans for this entire holiday season have been shot, starting with Thanksgiving and now Christmas., due to all this uncertainty.

We Have Yet Another Vessel

Alter making three phone calls to Dennis at YachtPath to find out what happened to the updates for the vessel that was supposed to load in three days, I finally got an update stating that there is a new vessel in play and that the projected date to load in Port Everglades was December 16th.

It’s the COSCO Da Qiang. Click here a link to see the vessel on Marine Traffic. 

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The vessel arrived today at the port of Guayaquil in Honduras to load it’s below deck cargo. Dennis finally did call me and proceeded to take me through the whole process of what they do in his business to get a vessel. It would be interesting if it was not having such a negative impact on my life.

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Da Qiang in Honduras

I asked the direct question: ”What do you think the probabilitly is that this will actually happen”. I did not expect a direct response. However, Dennis said “95%”, although he said he did not want to “jinx it”. To me it all sounds like gambling rather than a rational business model.

Still in a Holding Pattern

The calendar has a turned a new page. It’s now two months since we closed on OceanFlyer and it still is in Fort Lauderdale awaiting transport to the West Coast. YachtPath seems to be responding to my two months of encouragement to keep their clients updated as to what is going on. After my last “talk” with Dennis Cummings, the president, we are now getting daily emails.

There is no specificity or firm commitment, but at least I feel we are not forgotten. December 8-10 is the current “plan” for loading the boat, but no specific vessel has been “nominated”, to use the industry term. Without a specific vessel identified, it is still uncertain. As we saw with PAC Athena, even with her being nominated, it changed course and left us siting at our slip in Florida.

You Know Where You Stand

Today I continued my efforts to find out from YachtPath where we stand on transporting my boat. It is clear to me that PAC Athena is not coming to Ft. Lauderdale, but we have still not received any communication from YachtPath.

Finally, Dennis called me to tell me what I already knew:

“We will not be taking PAC Athena.”

He then did his typical rambling about how hard his business is; blah, blah. blah. He said there was a boat available on the 17th, but then he said that date was too early for his potential Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show customers to commit to. So it’s clear that once YachtPath has your money, you are not important and the ultimate schedule is not driven by customers who have paid their money, it is driven by the “potential customer” who can put more money into YachtPath’s pocket.

It is clear to me that if YachtPath cannot fill a transport cargo ship with boats, they let any opportunity pass and will not commit to a shipping company until they have a “full load”. They never tell you this when they sell you their services. They make it sound like there is a firm schedule that they will adhere to, and you can count on that.

Dennis said he is working on another boat, and

“whatever gets here in the next two weeks we will be on that boat”.

Apparently there are two candidate shipping vessels. Dennis said we will send me the IMO number of the two candidates and also send me an official update via email later today.

I do not expect to see anything from YachtPath today, but we’ll see what happens.

You’re Not Going To Believe This!

As you are aware, the last and only update from YachtPath said the planned arrival of PAC Athena into Port Everglades was November 29th with loading taking place on the 30th.

When I checked online last evening, this site showed that PAC Athena left New Orleans around noon on Thanksgiving.

PAC Athena Leaving New Orleans headed south. 

Of particular concern is that the destination is listed as Panama with an arrival date of November 28th. I doubt the vessel would go to Panama and then return to Port Everglades. If this information is correct, it would appear the November shipping of OceanFlyer is not going to happen.

I have called all my contacts at YachtPath and no one is in the office and no one is returning any of my voice mails.

At this point, my frustration is indescribable. If anyone has a trick to get accurate information on PAC Athena’s schedule, I would be most appreciative of your help.

Having exhausted all my contacts I reached out to my two boat brokers to see if they had any ideas for get information. Not long after I send out my plea, Steve Fithian of HMY sent me a text. It seems Steve has a “Secret number” that will actually get answered by YachtPath. He was able to confirm my suspicions that the owner of PAC Athena decided to bypass Port Everglades to try to get back on schedule.

He further relayed that YachtPath had identified another ship that should load on or about December 5. The rub is that this is a smaller vessel and there is no room for all the boats previously scheduled for PAC Athena. Steve made a point of how important it was to him, HMY Yachts and Grand Banks, Inc. (all good clients of YachtPath) that OceanFlyer get on this new vessel. Here’s hoping his leverage will work. I’m also working with my other broker, Scott Blake of NW Explorations to apply some pressure. He is about to close on another Grand Banks in Fort Lauderdale and I’m hoping we can use that as a wedge to secure a place on the December 5th vessel.

Realize that all of this is second hand information because YachtPath has not been forthcoming with any updates or changes. What a lot of drama for what should be a simple logistic transaction.

Where Is The Boat?

Here is the first information we have received in writing from YachtPath since we started this process of getting our boat shipped to the West Coast almost two months ago. This new date, 11-30, is one week later than the last date we were working to, but it seems more real than anything we have seen to date.

To all Clients aboard the “M/V PAC Athena”,

As of Thursday, May 23, 2013 the “M/V PAC Athena” is currently in New Orleans awaiting a position under the grain elevator for the loading her below deck cargo. 

Based on the latest loading schedule this vessel is due to arrive in Port Everglades on November 29th PM. Yacht loading operations are now planned to commence on the morning of November 30th. 

Please find the ETA for remaining ports listed below. 

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Please be advised that these are Estimated Time of Arrivals and are subject to change. We kindly request that you do not make travel arrangements until three (3) days prior to the Vessels arrival date.

PAC Athena Makes it to the Grain Elevator

Yesterday evening PAC Athena started to move. However, to our surprise, it appeared as if the ship was sailing up the river and then back down the river. This went on until we when to bed. My only speculation is that they had to vacate the mooring that they were occupying for the last few days and the grain elevator was not yet ready for them. 

This morning when I checked the ship’s position, it was at the grain elevator and the track history indicated that it arrived at about 3:30am EDT. Well, that’s progress. Now if only someone would tell us what that mean’s to the schedule so we know when it will arrive at Port Everglades for loading.

This is the moorage next to the grain elevator in New Orleans. PAC Athena looks a lot like the front ship in this picture. (photo from Google Earth)

Bad Behavior

It’s the Friday before the Wednesday when the cargo ship PAC Athena is to arrive at Port Everglades and we load OceanFlyer to be transported to Victoria.

YachtPath continues to provide no information or confirmation this is all going to happen as promised. Our problem is that it is Thanksgiving week and there are almost no seats left on any flights. If the loading is to occur on the 23rd we need to depart on the 20th to allow time to double check everything.

I reached out to everyone I know at YachtPath and the owner will not call me back and my sales representative is clueless and not helpful in finding out what is going on and conveying that information to me.

She gave me Kevin Cumming’s (brother of the owner) cell phone so I can call. I guess she feels no obligation to do any work on her own. I called the number and get a message that his mailbox is full and I cannot leave a message; a clear signal that he never wants to hear from anyone.

I finally tracked him down in his office. When I state that my boat is scheduled to travel on PAC Athena, I hear “Oh no” at the other end. His explanation is that he just found out that the grain loading facility in New Orleans is backed up and the new schedule is now a November 30th arrival in Port Everglades.

Later in the day, I found out that the HMY Yachts broker’s assistant had been informed yesterday that the arrival would be delayed. So “I just found out” was not truthful. I then proceeded to call everyone who is impacted by this new news.

It has been a couple of weeks since I was reassured by Dennis Cummings that he would provide regular updates on the status of the transport. So far, no information has been forthcoming from anyone at YachtPath. I continue to be amazed at how little YachtPath cares about their clients. It would be a simple matter to issue regular informational emails, if only to say, there is no new information.

We came within an hour of buying $1,500 worth of airline tickets (middle seats only) and if I had not spent hours of my time to track down someone at YachtPath, we would have been out that money.

I continue to take things into my own hands. After some internet searching, I located a site that would show me the location of PAC Athena. At least now I know the location of the vessel. The information on the site is usually no less than 1 or two hours old. I figured that is will take PAC Athena 64 hours to sail form New Orleans to Port Everglades. Unfortunately, I’ll need to buy airline tickets more than 64 hours in advance, but a least I’ll be able to see when the ship leaves it current berth for the grain elevator and when it leaves New Orleans. If YachtPath continues to be unresponsive, I’m working on contacting the PAC shipping lines to get information from the source.

Where's the Fuel?

Dan Cross, who is managing the various small projects that are we are doing on OceanFlyer as we wait for YachtPath, called today. The reason he called was to ask if we wanted him to add fuel since there was none showing in the sight gauges.

He later called to say that even after adding 50 gallons per side, there was nothing showing in the sight gauges. We went through the usual checklist of what could be going on. The most likely problem is that the valves that control access to the sight gauges were not working properly.

Dan checked those values and they were all OK. To make a long story short, the ultimate mystery was a result of the fact that the tanks have a very sloped bottom. They slope at about a 15 degree angle from the front of the tank to the rear. The angle matches the prop shaft so it was done to accommodate the latest tank possible in the space above the prop shafts.

The boat has a Tank Watch fuel gauge so we will put more importance on it than the sight gauges as the fuel gets below the level of the forward edge of the tank. Just reinforces that no two boats are the same.

We’re from the government and we’re here to help

It’s an old joke and it was running through my mind as I began the process to change the registration for the EPIRB that is on OceanFlyer. As background, every EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) must be registered to a specific vessel and owner. It makes sense, if the unit deploys and signals for help, you want the recuse teams looking for the right vessel.

The registration process in the U.S. is managed by the Department of Commerce and more specifically, N.O.A.A. For a new unit, you can do it online. But for an EPIRB that is already registered you have to contact N.O.A.A. When I called the number listed on their website, I was greeted on the phone by a real person, not a recording with 27 options to choose from. The young man on the other end was great. He confirmed my information and the current registration of the unit. He said he needed to contact the current registered owner and have him release the unit and then he would call be back and we could then complete the new registration. I was skeptical.

But the next day, I got the call. The previous registration was released and I could go online and complete my registration. It was an easy 5-minute process and two days later, I had the new registration sticker in my hands. No hassle, no cost. So hats off to the team in Suitland Maryland who manage this program. They are a model of efficiency, courtesy and professionalism. Now, if only the same could be said of all our public servants.

Fort Lauderdale Boat Show

We had never been to the Fort Lauderdale show so our expectations were simply that it was a big show, had many more 100ft plus bots than any show we had ever been to and would be a good place to find ideas and inspiration as we outfitted OceanFlyer. We were also looking for some “boat show discounts” on items we needed to put on the boat before it leaves Florida for the West Coast.

Indeed, the show is big. Lots of vendors grouped in tents with similar themes like electronic, engines, and stuff for mega-yachts. It was a bit overwhelming and hard to navigate, but we did see a lot in one long day. We skipped looking at boats since we were not now in the market. The only exception was a visit to Grand Banks where we most interested in fabric ideas, how they made the disappearing screens work and options for adding a few opening windows to the salon.

I was amazed at how many people were at the show. It was Thursday, the “preview” day, when the show charges double the regular entry price. In other shows, that usually keeps down the traffic to a manageable level. Not here. It was very busy.

We did order a bridle from Quickline and also picked up a replacement led bulb for the overhead lights as a test of changing all the lights to LED. My plan is to change the current halogen bulbs to LED as they burn out or the budget allows a one-time re-fit. The show in the tents was not really a selling show. Most displays were manufacturers with a few retailers and a few other sellers.

Karen identified the best price for fenders on the Crook & Crook web site so we stopped by their booth and talked to the General Manager. He gave us his card and signed the back with a note to extend us a 10% discount at the store in Miami. So, now we know what we’re doing tomorrow.

Taking Advantage of Downtime

Since we are stuck in Florida waiting for YachtPath to meet their obligations, I'm getting a bunch of projects done. 

I'm having the fuel polished to remove the water and clean the diesel fuel. I'm also having the deck fuel filler fittings re-bedded since that is the most likely cause of the water infiltration we have in the port tank. 

The other major project is to replace all the waste hoses. Being 12 years old, they are long past their prime. There is nothing worse than "head small" on a boat and old hoses can be a prime source. We're using top of the line hoses that come with a 5 year warranty for odor permeation.

YachtPath Update

I finally got through to Dennis Cummings, the owner of YachtPath. The purpose of my call was to determine if the November sailing was going to really happen or whether it could get cancelled at the last minute as did the October sailing. Dennis stated that although the October 18th sailing did not happen because the boat was redirected to go around the bottom of South America, he said that he is working on another October sailing for later in the month.

I leaned a couple of things. This marine shipping business is very ad hoc, and subject to many factors of which no one seems to have any control. Changes in destinations and load factors can determine whether your boat goes or not. In order to get from Florida to Canada, you need a boat that is going to Japan. Victoria is “one the way” to Japan, so I need my boat to get onto a transport headed to Japan.

Dennis says that he has two barges that he needs to get to Japan (reading between the lines, the two barges represent enough cargo for him to commit to a transport ship and my boat is able to tag along). Friday is apparently the day when the ship brokers and transport brokers, like YachtPath, close their deals. Hopefully we will have more info after Friday as to whether a late October sailing is going to happen.

I did get Dennis to state that the November 25th sailing would definitely happen. In the meantime, I’m contacting other options. We’ll keep our expectations low and our hopes high.

Never Mind!

O.M.G. This morning I received an email from YachtPath that stated: 

“there will be no sailing in October”

Mind you the sailing date was only a week away from today. They say the next sailing is November 25th. (Of course, there is no guarantee that that will happen.)

And don’t forget, they just got my $35,000 wire transfer on Friday. We have read all about how marine transport, in particular YachtPath, is very “losey-goosey”, hard to pin down, they never call you back, etc.; but when we come face to face with the reality, it is a blow to the gut.

Right now we’re regrouping and trying to assess our options.

The Boat Gets Moved

Captain Bob (not me!)  has successfully moved OceanFlyer to the HMY docks in Diana Beach, FL. He only had one problem. He found a lot of water in one of the Racor filters. We have dual filters on each engine so he only had to switch to the other filter, but now we need to determine the source of the water.

We have a contract with YachtPath to move the boat to Victoria, Canada. The insurance for when the boat is in transit with YachtPath is ready.

Charlie, the diesel mechanic, knows that that the boat is available for him to complete his tasks. I am having him do all the tasks that were on his list from the survey. I'm also having him put a complete set of spares on board so we have backups if we need them during our ferry trip form Victoria to Bellingham.

 All in all, a good day of accomplishing details. Now I’ll start making a list for tomorrow.

The Boat is Ours

Today is the closing when the ownership of the boat changes hands. We received the paperwork that the repairs that were the owner’s responsibility are complete. I informed the broker that we can proceed with the closing and he was off to make it happen.

HMY Yachts has lined up a captain to move the boat from Fort Pierce to the HMY docks in Dania Beach (Fort Lauderdale area). The weather is supposed to pick up a bit, so the captain may need to make the transit in the ICW instead of the ocean which will add time to the trip.

No matter the route, I’m hoping the boat will be at HMY’s docks by Friday and the few maintenance items I want to complete can be accomplished before we have to prep the boat for transport.

Money Day

The wire transfer is complete. The seller’s broker has all the money needed to close the sale in his escrow account. Now we just need to wait for the repairs the owner is responsible for to be completed and we can close. Looks like Tuesday will be the big day.