Bavaria Cruiser 37 | Lady Ann

The pickup experience was only OK. Seafarer use an online checklist that they ask you to go through which covers about 100 items. Its a nice idea, but I felt the purpose was more to shift responsibility to me for validating the yachts condition before sailing. I'd prefer if a company rep went through the list with me to demonstrate that they had properly prepared the boat for charter. It felt like I was being asked to do their job for them. As it was I identified around 10-14 items that needed to be addressed - all minor. While many were sorted, others were not. However this system didn't cover crucial items and notable problems arose with the boat during our week long charter. It quickly emerged that the yacht we were given was poorly maintained. The aft fresh water tank was leaking into the bilge, wind instruments didn't work, dinghy was in poor repair. Also the engine was leaking a lot of oil and had been overfilled. On the last day the starter motor would work. We could not get help from our contact in Seafarer Sailing who was uncontactable. Fortunately we got help from a engineer from a Neilson flotilla. With his help we found that the wiring to the starter motor was loose. Thankfully we found this out in harbour and not at anchor in a remote bay! I have previously chartered Bavaria 37s from Sail Ionian out of Lefkas. While more expensive, I would go with them in future. The boats are better maintained and the shore support is always contactable. This is especially important when you are sailing with your family.