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Magic - MAGIC blog from TINA and MARK - May is sleeping



Sunday 6th December

15.23.4 N   53.51.7W

 

 

Dear Suppliers to S/Y Magic

 

As we sail the last few hundred miles en route to Saint Lucia we are taking the time reflect on and write a letter to the suppliers who have worked on Magic over the past year in preparation for our Atlantic Crossing. For the purposes of this letter, some of the names may have been changed… but you know who you are! It is staggering how bad the sailing industry is supported. There are so many suppliers who think they can get away with shoddy work – because we are passing through.

 

We have been amazed at the world-class lack of professionalism; skill and integrity you have shown us during our progress from Portsmouth to Portugal, Spain and through to Las Palmas and on  to the Caribbean.

 

Fellow sailors – isn’t it time we didn’t have to put up with mediocre services from people who “don’t care” (yes that’s really what one supplier said when we complained – “ I don’t care”) or are incompetent – it is expensive and worse it is dangerous.

There should be a global – approved marine supplier network of the good guys who do good work and do care. 

 

Having said that there are many people out there who have done great work on Magic – and to you – John, Simon, David, Martin and Juan Carlos at Rolnautic… Pip and the Force 4 guys – Seaway Deliveries etc – you know how much we appreciate your work. You are rare!

 

So on to our Thank you letter:

 

Thank you to Andy the ‘electrician’ in Portsmouth who supplied us with all the wrong LED lights so that we nearly burned our boat and ourselves.  He also treated us to many hours of delightful small talk for which he charged by the hour whilst not fixing our Webasto central heating system.

 

Thank you Brian the ‘rigger’ in Portsmouth who took away our mainsail to have a third reef put in and then rigged the sail back on so badly that when we hoisted it, it took us 4 hours to re do the running rigging.

 

Thank you to Antonio the ‘sail maker’ who taught us the cost of sail repairs.  He took away our damaged mainsail – We are sure that 1000 euros for the repair of one small hole and two new batons is a bargain.  Again it was really useful to learn all about our reefing system as we had to completely re reef all the running rigging!

 

Thanks to the Simrad ‘expert’ who charged us for days and days of work to ‘fix’ the autopilot that then stopped working mid Atlantic – it made the adventure so much more fun.  We enjoyed hand steering for hundreds of miles day and night. It is great for your arm muscles and your sailing skills.

 

Thanks to icom (the spell checker wanted to make that i con) for the new VHF that lasted 7 months and stopped working mid Atlantic – it was so much fun to be out of touch.

 

Thanks to Hugo and his team who managed to create so many paint defects in our new paintwork that we were able to learn all about marine paint.  It also meant that it didn’t matter if we got a scratch, as you wouldn’t notice. Thank you also to the ‘professional’  marine surveyor who didn’t know the difference between paint and epoxy.

 

Thanks to the marine maintenance team in Gibraltar who so badly fitted our new Schenker water maker that the Schenker team who visited Magic in Las Palmas said it would have to be refitted completely in Saint Lucia – you really helped us guys – it would have been so dull to actually have had fresh water on the way to Saint Lucia.  The team on Magic loved having to figure out a way of using buckets and bilge pumps to make the water maker work.

 

Thanks to the rigger who rigged our new mast and seemed to have forgot the bottom rivets and who put the split pins in backwards and didn’t tape them well so that they ripped holes in the mainsail mid Atlantic.  We loved taking the sail down and making a repair at sea. We loved talking with our crew about weather we should go to Cape Verde for repairs or not – very motivational!

 

Thank you also to the ‘expert’ who told us the head of our furling Genoa was fine.  When it jammed at sea, Mark had a ball rolling and spinning around the mast trying to fix it in a huge Atlantic swell with a squall on our heels.   Once the bruises heal I am sure he would love to pop over and shake your hand.

 

Thanks to Hanse for making a boat with a stern door that leaks so we had the experience of being afraid because we had to pump out water on our way to Madeira – then have a new seal fitted in Las Palmas.  How can you design a door that’s below the water line that  in your own words “is not designed to be water tight”? Thanks for the chart table and door coming away from their hinges – it was hilarious fun in a force 7 rolling about trying to grab things that come away in our hands – what a hoot you guys are.  Longer screws would have made for such a dull, safe time for our crew.  Oh yes, and thanks for the anchor mechanism – it looks amazing until you actually have to anchor and it bends at 45% slamming into the side of the boat and jamming the chain– nice job. 

And how we laughed until we cried when we discovered that the diagram of the electrics we have was not the one for this actual boat – good one! 

Bloody hilarious too are the hinges on the tables that are supposed to hold up the heavy table tops – they don’t work, leaving you to have the table tops crashing down on your nose or head – it’s ok …purple suits me, thanks.

 

Thanks for the electronic gauges on the yacht – wouldn’t it be so dull to actually know how much fuel or water you really have.  The guessing game is good for the mental fitness of all on board.  It is also good for the local economies we have visited, as we have to buy twice as much water and fuel so we are sure we have enough.  That’s clever.

 

And thank you for the new kicker plate that we had made in Las Palmas that lasted only 8 days before cracking.  That’s great, as it keeps steel guys busy in the Carribean. But  - Hanse - why design a vang that cracks the kicker plate – it’s a  “common fault” ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……

 

So, Thank you …’professional’ marine suppliers - this has all been so not worth the £100 000 we have invested in supporting your businesses.  I hope you sleep well thinking of your customers sailing the Atlantic and putting their lives at risk – what fun for yo

 

Just because we sail away

doesn’t mean that YOU should get away

With,  shoddy work

 

 Lets Make Sailing Safer!



very sincerely

Tina and Mark Davies on S/Y Magic

 

THANK YOU

 

 

 

 

 

 


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