Dear John,
We have read Martin Johnson´s comments about Joves Navegantes in your November issue. They are inaccurate and we believe purposely mischievous. The facts are as follows.
1. He says ".....The intended recipient of the donations of vessel and cash, the Association, was never asked to consent to the transfer of assets to the Foundation. The original members and current members never voted .....".
How strange then, this excerpt from a Memorandum of Action, January 31, 2003 at a special meeting of Joves Navegants (members in attendance Pat Bullock, Kevin O´Regan, Eugene Waters, Simon Crutchley, Terry Purkiss, Martin Johnson, Heidrun Bierkamper, Peter Schmidt and Sheila MacMillan):
".... Pat reported that Joves Navegants, a registered charity association, may not have "private income" while a "foundation" may earn income through chartering of the vessel or other activities. Pat recommended that we establish such a foundation after conferring with a qualified attorney. Martin Johnson will assist Pat with the creation of such an entity. Pat further recommended that the gift of money and vessel be channelled through such a foundation. There was unanimous acceptance of said recommendations."
The full minutes from which this excerpt is taken were prepared and e-mailed to committee members by Martin Johnson himself on 31st January 2003.
Please Note: four of the above mentioned committee members are also founder members of the original Association.
2. The aims of the Foundation and the Association are identical - as is shown on both sets of deeds and Articles of Association, and for expedience sake, three trustees were immediately named for the Board of the new Foundation with the intention of expanding to a total of twelve. We would have thought it obvious the reasoning behind wanting "prestigious members of Mallorquin society" voted on to the Board. There would be no point in filling the trustees box with twelve volunteers, however good, hard working or well intentioned they are. To invite and enlist the right calibre of trustees on board takes time. We would not however wish the board to be exclusively Spanish - it would be hoped that prestigious and influential non-Spanish members of the "Yachting Fraternity" - particularly those whose sail training advice would be invaluable - would also accept a place on the board.
We also have to consider the generous donor of GALAXIE. He has always wished to remain anonymous and we must continue to respect that request. He has however, permanently been a party to all discussions regarding the eventual ownership and flagging of GALAXIE and it was on his suggestion and subsequent request that the parallel Foundation was constituted.
We have discussed in detail MJ’s recent comments with Peter Allan, President of the Association, with the donor of GALAXIE, and with Roger Murray, founder of Joves Navegants and former Governor of OYC. They are (and always have been) in possession of the full facts and they have seen and approved this letter, thus showing that we have their total support.
We would like to emphasise that all matters, including full accounts connected to both the Association and the Foundation are permanently open to public scrutiny. We do, and always will, operate a completely transparent policy regarding all matters and welcome any interest shown. Meetings are held regularly and every committee member is informed of the exact date. Non-members are always very welcome to come along. whether it is for more information, or simply wishing to volunteer their help. Please contact the Joves Navegants office for further details - tel: 971 403761, fax: 971 4000216. e-mail: Jovesnavegants@hotmail.com.
John, thank you for having given us this opportunity to publicly reassure everyone that all our intentions are good ones and hopefully we have been able to repair any damage that has been done by MJ.
We now simply want to get on and continue to channel our energies into helping the local underprivileged youngsters - we have already taken out several trips on GALAXIE and are in the process right now of organising the full winter programme.
Yours sincerely
Simon Crutchley, President; Sheila MacMillan, Vice President; Patricia Bullock, Secretary
Dear John,
Thank you for your interest in Joves Navegants. For 10 years, we have been trying to get publicity and here we get two mentions in one issue!
Although I am not a personal advocate of the theory that any publicity is better than no publicity at all, you have certainly got people talking about, and taking an interest in, Joves Navegants.
I refer of course to your comments in Master Bates and am answering this in my own name.
It was neither an oversight nor a deliberate omission not to mention those who have given so generously over the past 10 years. Firstly, if you start naming people who have donated, you have to make sure you mention everybody, otherwise someone gets upset. Secondly, if you make too big a list of donors, then other companies who may be looking for a charity to support think, "well, they´re OK, they have lots of support, we´ll give to someone else".
Regarding the photos, you of all people know that writers do not have editorial control and it is the editor who decides which photos go in.
Did you give any thought, I wonder, to the damage being done to the charity itself, before you wrote your column? Would it not be sad if it lost support now, and thereby the last 10 years of hard work were lost through a few ill thought words?
With regard to your final paragraph, I think you will find that answered in the letter (sent by the Trustees of Joves Navegants) in reply to Martin Johnson´s letter.
Best regards, Sheila J MacMillan
Ed´s comment:
Sheila, taking your letter piece by piece:
"For 10 years we have been trying to get publicity.."
The Islander has probably carried more (always very positive) editorial on Joves Navegants than any other media and for some years.
"two mentions in one issue"-It is obvious that you cannot see the difference between a letter from a reader (in this case Martin Johnson) and an editorial comment by Master Bates.
"It was neither an oversight...."
I still find it inconceivable that you could write a whole page on a charity (that by it´s very nature relies on fund raising) and not mention the biggest source of its revenue, not just one-off, but for more than 10 years!
"Regarding the photos.."
If you were an outside contributor you might get away with this excuse. However you are not only a vice president of the charity you are also listed as Business Director of the magazine in which the article was run- although you obviously admit it was a mistake you cannot abrogate responsibility.
"Did you give any thought..."
I would suggest that if there is any thought to be done before writing anything it is you that needs to concentrate. Read Master Bates´ comment as many times as you like- it does not in any way disparage the charity only the article that you wrote about it.
"With regard to your last paragraph..."
Again, although a "Business Manager" of a magazine, you don´t seem able to grasp the difference between "Letters to the Editor" from outsiders and editorial comment for which we are responsible.
Hi John,
Thought that your readers might like to know that I just ran a GMDSS training course onboard M.Y. Fair Lady, in Club de Mar, at a price per head comparable to that charged in Antibes (i.e., without the usual additional cost charged to Palma candidates to cover the expense of renting accommodation on the island). We were able to run the course with only 4 candidates, because Pat Burke was able to convince his owner of the benefits of having his crew trained on their own equipment and at a good price (no travel and accommodation to boost the overall cost). If there are 4 candidates, the price per head is £1005 or 1500 Euro (price includes the £105 examination fee). If there´s a 5th/6th candidate, a contribution from each goes to the vessel´s account (and/or helps ensure no nasty surprises for me or the other candidates if there´s a last minute drop-out!)
I´d like to think that we could make this a regular thing but, to do so, we need a guaranteed minimum of 4 people (maximum 6) and the ´free´ use of a ´suitably-equipped, British-registered vessel´ ... though I do bring all the necessary radio/satcom equipment/simulators with me to fill any gaps in the vessel´s own radio installation. My MCA-Approved GMDSS courses are provided on a ‘mobile’ basis, which allows me to operate at ´approved overseas centres´ or onboard British-registered vessels.
If any potential GMDSS candidates would like to know, from the horse´s mouth, how the latest course went - they can speak to Lloyd, Chris or Darren on Fair Lady, or to Lee on Aspasia Alpha. Any Captains who´d like to hear the implications of allowing their vessel to be used should speak to Pat Burke on Fair Lady in the Club de Mar.
We´ve already got two people interested in another course, provisionally planned for March 8-17th 2004, if we can find a suitable vessel ...
Anyone interested in hearing more can contact me by e-mail at ian.waugh@btinternet.com or by telephone/fax at +44 1621 817 671. Web site is www.gmdss4all.net
Regards, Ian Waugh
Dear John,
Having recently arrived in Mallorca with my dog, I thought that perhaps I would pass on some information regarding the Pet Passport scheme for anyone wishing to bring their pet out of the UK.
Having insured that my dog was inoculated, micro chipped etc to comply with the regulations of the scheme I then found out than IN ADDITION to this you need to obtain an export health certificate for each country that you will be travelling through.
The licence is issued by DEFRA in the UK. (Tel 0870 2411710- based in Reigate, Surrey)
The procedure being that they will send you an application form which, when completed, has to be returned to them- they then issue the licence to a designated Vet. in your area who has to see the animal for a health check (Allow at least 7 days for them to issue the licence).
Note: The licence, when issued, is valid for 10 days and if for any reason you do not leave the country within this period a new application has to be made.
There are no charges for the licence from DEFRA but obviously there is the Vet’s fee.
Regards, Lee New
p.s. Whilst writing I must say that I was terribly impressed with the travel agency TICKET, who helped me with all my travel arrangements- nothing was too much trouble for them and they were extremely pleasant and courteous. I will certainly use them again.
How is it for Captains?
The year after a new yacht has been built and commissioned is the period when you hope the shipyard will solve the warranty issues you have put forward to them, so that the owner can use his boat.
It´s certainly a compromise when you leave the yard. In fact, if we waited for the day when everything is perfect both operationally and cosmetically, I doubt us captains would ever leave!
However we do!
So we have a new boat and a new crew and off we go! Straight into a full-on charter season. Its only by October (we´re lucky if we´re not going across to the Caribbean) that life on board settles down and we get a chance to properly attend some of the problems that have nagged at us for months.
What sort of problems are we talking about? Well let me just mention a few!
- The shafts need repacking.
- The fixtures and fittings need adjustment.
- The correct software needs to be programmed and integrated on our navigation and communication systems.
- There are numerous small leaks from fan coil units and refrigeration.
- The new sewage treatment plant is not working 100%.
As captains we know there will always be problems and it´s our job to solve them.
So who do we call?
It certainly helps if the boat´s architects have had the foresight to choose equipment that can be serviced by well-organised agencies. The ethics I look for from an agency are firstly, that they show up at the time arranged; secondly, the people that show up actually know what they are talking about; have had training on specialist equipment and can complete the work efficiently and cleanly.
Finally, a pleasant manner whilst carrying out the job; taking time to explain what the job entails and what procedures should be undertaken to keep the equipment running smoothly are also of great value to those on board.
I have previously mentioned that the sewage treatment plant on board, made by Hamann, was not working 100% so I´ll take this as my example.
I called in Precision Marine Engineering, Hamann´s agents on the island, and between them Andy, Stuart, Manolo, Nick and Victor got the unit up and running smoothly again.
And when working efficiently, the Hamann is fantastic, automatically taking care of grey and black water on board. The dirty water is treated through a series of macerators and uses a combination of air and chlorine, that results in a product both acceptable to the environment and Marpol.
There have been numerous other little problems on board which Precision have troubleshot; come up with a solution, sketched a new alternative and then implemented with great success.
Making my job as captain a whole lot easier
Regards, Captain Richard Kennedy
(Previously of MY Naughty by Nature)
Dear Captains,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new shipyard Latitude 39.
We are a team of ex-captains and engineers who have recently taken over the management of the shipyard with the objective to renovate service, enhance quality and restore confidence among you and the marine industry in Mallorca.
The Latitude 39 Shipyard situated in the Port of Palma has over 1800m2 of covered workshop space in association with a group of well established firms undertaking work from painting, engineering, carpentry, electronics through to marine composites and metalwork fabrication.
We provide moorings up to 50 Metres in length and hauling out capabilities up to 150tons.
Other services are coordinated through our captain´s office, which will provide information on communication, marine supplies, technical counselling, accommodation, rentals etc.
You are invited to subscribe to our questionnaire for suggestions, recommendations and complaints which will be included in a file for the shipyard development plan where your input will be invaluable.
Latitude 39´s course is set to the best value service available, by using quality craftsmen and materials and being there when you need us, to make sure your project meets in deadline.
We´ve been there, we know what it´s like!
Thank you for your consideration.
Christopher Sardo. Manager.
Tel: 971 22 78 20 Fax: 971 71 00 60