We caught a lot of fish but the creature comforts, communication and preparedness were a bit lacking. My family had a better experience with Maverick Charters.
If you go, make sure to bring windbreaker / raincoat and sweater or jacket. The owner's wife Heather is terrific.
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In response to the business owner's comments (see below), his son did not do a good job of making the trip fun, comfortable or safe. He's not a good communicator which is important when you're working with families. It also wasn't to the best idea to go so far out, which was his call. Fortunately, I was eventually able to talk him into staying a bit closer in after a long discussion.
The young captain spent much of our time out there working on the boat. After his repairs to try and fix the broken speedometer, the boat wouldn't start and we were stuck out at sea for hours.
The young captain's plan was to drift back towards shore until we were in cell phone range. No flares. No emergency devices to contact anyone. No joke.
It would have been a very cold and uncomfortable night and it was quite an ordeal for us and our kiddos. Fortunately, I was able to contact emergency services and got us rescued.
I tried to be pretty nice in my short review and focus on the positives, but I wouldn't use this charter company again and I certainly can't recommend them. Even if we hadn't had mechanical trouble, which happens, my family much preferred the way Maverick Charters handled my family's charter.
The captain didn't have us towed by professionals because it would have cost him money. And the idea that we insisted on going out in a storm or that their poor decision making, lack of preparedness, and the captian's poor communication skills were our fault is just nonsense. They changed the time of our charter and we went along with it, just as we went along with all of the captain's decisions until realizing that he was incapable of handling the situation at hand.
We all make mistakes and they're not bad people, but the owner lashing out at me over a bum cruise that we were still charged full price for is pretty gross. Your training, planning, maintenance and customer service skills need work. You can do better. Live and learn. read more