To make a short story long....
First family vacation in 4 years. Pinch pennies for months so me and the wife can relax and my daughter and youngest son can do lots of cool things in South Padre for a week.
Everything is going great for a few days and then we show up for our 1:00 appointment for a little Parasailing outing!
Abigail and Jeff (10 and 16 years old) are going to parasail at the same time. We're on the boat with about 6 other people and 4 crew members. One "captain", two deck hands, and one "captain in training". Everything starts out ok and we get out into the bay. Surf is calm, wind is nice.
They ask for volunteers to go first and my 10 yr old daughter immediately says "We will!". So the crew fit her and Jeff out in harnesses and life vests and tell them to get ready while they get the parasail up.
This is when the fecal matter hits the cooling apparatus. They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
To save time, I'm just gonna copy and paste the above paragraph 3 more times:
Attempt 2: They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
Attempt 3: They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
Attempt 4: They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
Somewhere between the third and fourth attempt there is some serious grumbling coming from the customers. I started expressing doubts about whether or not I wanted my kids being towed behind a boat attached to a long rope, 100' up in the air, by the 4 stooges.
And that's when the story gets real good.
This was the last pic I took before the parasailing trip from hell began:
While they were pulling in the parasail after the 4th failed attempt, the entire rear deck of the boat (the one they are standing on in the pic) launched upward. All four crew members went flying into the bay like young, scared, well-tanned, not-so cocky anymore, human missiles.
I didn't actually witness this because I was looking to the front of the boat and saying something to one of the kids. I heard a noise, looked back toward the crew, and they were gone! The deck had already slammed shut again after launching them into the water. A few of the ladies on the boat screamed something and then I realized that the crew dudes may be tangled up in the parachute behind the boat.
Side note: I've got my fairly brand new iPhone 4S and my son's HTC Inspire phone in my pocket. I get to the rear of the boat, jump up on the rear deck and get ready to start hauling no-longer-cocky captains and deckhands back onto the boat. That's when......wait for it......you guessed it:
The rear deck flies open again and launches my fat moneymaker like a 230 lb. well-muscled harpoon. I cleared the crew and made a splashless 9.9, 9.8, 9.7, 9.9, 9.8, 9.2 (**** French judges) entry, into the water.
I resurface, see that the crew is still hauling each other in, and decide to get far away from them and their superior nautical knowledge. I went to the side of the boat (it's got some kind of slick pontoons that weren't great for hauling yourself up on). I took off my shoes and threw them on board and then threw the phones up just in case they could be salvaged.
I held on to the side for about 4 hours (OK...probably one minute) and then the Captain "Trainee" and my son Jeff pulled me aboard the boat. By this time the crew was back on board and having a good ol' laugh at everything.
After a few choice words to the crew from me and a few others, they hightailed it back to the pier, dropped us off, and took off to who knows where. We got our refund and then I asked to speak to the owner. Of course he wasn't there but I got a business card for the general manager.
I called him from my wife's phone (me no gottie phone anymore). He said "he was already aware of the situation and was downing the boat and having the deck repaired".
I then advised him that I would need reimbursement for two waterlogged phones and also expressed my anger (in a kind, gentle way) about his crew that was messed up like a soup sandwich, the lack of apologies from the "Captain", and the laughing and joking on the way back in like it had all been a fun time.
He said he would initiate an "insurance claim" to try and cover my phone damage but didn't comment on his employees behavior.
I've had several phone calls and email with him since Tuesday but nothing resolved yet.
The company is Breakaway Cruises. I'll let y'all know if they make it right with me on the phones.
If not, please join me in another unofficial TBH boycott.
First family vacation in 4 years. Pinch pennies for months so me and the wife can relax and my daughter and youngest son can do lots of cool things in South Padre for a week.
Everything is going great for a few days and then we show up for our 1:00 appointment for a little Parasailing outing!
Abigail and Jeff (10 and 16 years old) are going to parasail at the same time. We're on the boat with about 6 other people and 4 crew members. One "captain", two deck hands, and one "captain in training". Everything starts out ok and we get out into the bay. Surf is calm, wind is nice.
They ask for volunteers to go first and my 10 yr old daughter immediately says "We will!". So the crew fit her and Jeff out in harnesses and life vests and tell them to get ready while they get the parasail up.
This is when the fecal matter hits the cooling apparatus. They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
To save time, I'm just gonna copy and paste the above paragraph 3 more times:
Attempt 2: They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
Attempt 3: They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
Attempt 4: They get the parasail partially opened and the "captain" (early 20s, too cool for his own britches) is handling the parasail lines and gives the order to "GO". The driver gives it throttle and the chute falls into the water. They pull the chute back onto the rear deck, squeeze out a bunch of water, and start over.
Somewhere between the third and fourth attempt there is some serious grumbling coming from the customers. I started expressing doubts about whether or not I wanted my kids being towed behind a boat attached to a long rope, 100' up in the air, by the 4 stooges.
And that's when the story gets real good.
This was the last pic I took before the parasailing trip from hell began:
While they were pulling in the parasail after the 4th failed attempt, the entire rear deck of the boat (the one they are standing on in the pic) launched upward. All four crew members went flying into the bay like young, scared, well-tanned, not-so cocky anymore, human missiles.
I didn't actually witness this because I was looking to the front of the boat and saying something to one of the kids. I heard a noise, looked back toward the crew, and they were gone! The deck had already slammed shut again after launching them into the water. A few of the ladies on the boat screamed something and then I realized that the crew dudes may be tangled up in the parachute behind the boat.
Side note: I've got my fairly brand new iPhone 4S and my son's HTC Inspire phone in my pocket. I get to the rear of the boat, jump up on the rear deck and get ready to start hauling no-longer-cocky captains and deckhands back onto the boat. That's when......wait for it......you guessed it:
The rear deck flies open again and launches my fat moneymaker like a 230 lb. well-muscled harpoon. I cleared the crew and made a splashless 9.9, 9.8, 9.7, 9.9, 9.8, 9.2 (**** French judges) entry, into the water.
I resurface, see that the crew is still hauling each other in, and decide to get far away from them and their superior nautical knowledge. I went to the side of the boat (it's got some kind of slick pontoons that weren't great for hauling yourself up on). I took off my shoes and threw them on board and then threw the phones up just in case they could be salvaged.
I held on to the side for about 4 hours (OK...probably one minute) and then the Captain "Trainee" and my son Jeff pulled me aboard the boat. By this time the crew was back on board and having a good ol' laugh at everything.
After a few choice words to the crew from me and a few others, they hightailed it back to the pier, dropped us off, and took off to who knows where. We got our refund and then I asked to speak to the owner. Of course he wasn't there but I got a business card for the general manager.
I called him from my wife's phone (me no gottie phone anymore). He said "he was already aware of the situation and was downing the boat and having the deck repaired".
I then advised him that I would need reimbursement for two waterlogged phones and also expressed my anger (in a kind, gentle way) about his crew that was messed up like a soup sandwich, the lack of apologies from the "Captain", and the laughing and joking on the way back in like it had all been a fun time.
He said he would initiate an "insurance claim" to try and cover my phone damage but didn't comment on his employees behavior.
I've had several phone calls and email with him since Tuesday but nothing resolved yet.
The company is Breakaway Cruises. I'll let y'all know if they make it right with me on the phones.
If not, please join me in another unofficial TBH boycott.
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