A yacht delivery that
“turned a very stressful situation into a pleasurable experience”

At short notice Reliance Yacht Management was tasked to take over the Lagoon 450 Catamaran “Solicitude” at the commissioning dock in Les Sables d’Olonne in France for a delivery to Tortola. The boat was destined to join the Dream Yachts charter fleet in the BVI.

Leading delivery captain Hanna Golebiewska was the perfect choice for the contract. She had the experience of the model and the brand. She had also completed multiple Atlantic crossings on catamarans. The Operations desk at Reliance assisted in sourcing suitable crew, communications, professional weather routing and set up a dedicated webpage for the Owner to follow progress. Within days all was set and on the 29^th November 2016 the crew were on board. Circumstances were such that extra time was needed to prepare and clean the yacht prior to delivery. Missing inventory had to be replaced. A series of photographs and reports were provided giving the Owner and Broker a comprehensive assessment of the yacht’s condition.

All that was need now was a weather window. Biscay demands respect and especially in winter. The weather systems can be queuing up across the Atlantic bringing strong headwinds and high seas as they come over the continental shelf.  So when they departed on the 2^nd December it was after careful analysis and confidence that a safe passage can be made across to northern Spain and Portugal. Knowledge and experience of the yacht’s characteristics in heavy weather is also essential in passage planning.

On the 6^th December Solicitude joined up with other Lagoons on delivery as they entered Cascais, Portugal. As a new yacht, the engines needed their first service to comply with warranty. This was pre booked by the Operations desk and therefore was completed on the same day they arrived much to the envy of the other catamarans on delivery.

The Owner was following the progress at every stage on line with positions reports, photographs, weather updates and captains notes.

With the aid of professional weather routing, waypoints were given to the captain to help make the best of the conditions across the Atlantic. On the 9^th January 2017 Solicitude cleared customs in Virgin Gorda. No dramas, no problems, nothing broken and everything in good order.

The appraisal feedback from Dream Yachts was excellent, scoring the highest possible marks for both the boat and the crew. But the highest praise came from the Owner who said in an email;

After dealing with another skipper who was less than professional, I was referred to Nick to handle the delivery of my vessel from Les Sables d’Olonne to Tortola, BVI. From the moment I spoke to Nick, I sensed that he was a trustworthy, competent individual with a lot of experience.

From the beginning, Nick went beyond the call of duty to ensure that the issues caused by my previous skipper were addressed, and he quickly provided a highly-qualified crew to handle the delivery. Throughout the process communication was great; Nick called numerous times to apprise me of any issues that arose, and I never had any trouble reaching him with questions, which he was always happy to answer. Once Nick was in my camp, I never looked back, and I was able to sleep well at night knowing that he was diligently managing the delivery. I have already told Nick that I will definitely use him for future deliveries, because honestly, the process couldn’t have gone more smoothly once he was involved. Thanks Nick, you are a consummate professional who turned a very stressful situation into a pleasurable experience, and I really appreciate your help.