Allabroad Sailing Academy Comments |
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| Date Submitted: | May 1, 2009 |
| Sailing School: | Allabroad Sailing Academy |
| Location: | Marina Bay, Gibraltar |
| Classes & Instruction: | 7 out of 10 |
| School Facilities: | 7 out of 10 |
| Accomodation: | 5 out of 10 |
| Cost & Expense: | 9 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Not that good!! I passed the Yachmaster fastrack this year and must say that all but one of the instructors are excellent. Tony, Sean and JP were great teachers and I learnt a fortune from them. The one that wasn't took us to Portugal on a 10 day trip were he didn't teach just commanded and on 3 occassions got back to the boat drunk only a few hours before we were due to depart which meant late starts and early finish.You shouldn't pay good mney for an instructor that justs wants to get drunk. The boats are getting old and the maintainance was poor and I found it difficult to get things fixed. The gas alarm did not work for the last 7 weeks of the course!! Also bear in mind that they do say you wont share a berth but there are bunk bed cabins and shared saloon. The smaller boats only sleep five so with five on a course there is no room for an instuctor to sleep so it is back to Gib every night which is not good as the marina and shower blocks are the worst we ever visited on that coast. You are not allowed to use the showers on the boat!! The web site and pre course emails pull you in but once there the management, which is no longer Vic and Lyn, is very poor and disorganised and if you dare to criticise then you are made to feel very unwelcome. They may the best in Gibralatar but that doesn't make them good. |
| Submitted by: | Pete 48 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: UK |
4 comments for this review
| Comment by: David From: Gibraltar June 14th, 2009 |
This matter was fully investigated and all the other students were interviewed on this course and no one else could confirm these allegations. The boat in question was a bavaria 37 of 4 years of age and There is good reason for the showers not being used on any of the boats, firstly there is not enought hot water on any yacht of this size for 4 people to shower and secondly even if there was the vessel would be permenantly damp. No sailing schools allow you to shower on board. No other clients have complained about the facilities in marina bay, they are basic but there is allways plenty of hot water. There was a problem with oil on the hulls of the boats over the christmas period due to a huge oil spill in Gibraltar (out of our control) so some of our winter maintenance rescources were taken up with cleaning, this lead to some minor maintenance issues being delayed with one of the vessels. But no sailing time was lost. We do not put 5 on a course on the 37'er only on the 44'ers. we have the larger boats, so you do not share a berth, many schools treat a double berth as a twin we do not. |
| Comment by: Lill From: UK September 1st, 2009 |
I would just like to comment on the outlandish comments made by Pete in the first post on this thread. I have sailed with Allabroad sailing for 3 years now along with my family members who have been using the same company for around 7 years. We have sailed with instructors and have charter boats on our own and have always found the service fantastic. The staff are always approachable and have safety as their main port of call. Therefore this obsurd allegation that an instructor was drunk is ridiculous. The way that the company is managed is fantastic. The boats are always ready on time, clean and in fantastic shape. Never have I seen an old boat in the fleet. With regards to the shower block, how can you critises this as this is not the responsibility of the company. Also for your information the toilet and shower blocks have been refurbished. And if you want to have a shower on the boat and have no drinking water then I feel that this would not be a wise idea. Dave and Claire are doing a fantastic job running and managing the company along with their highly qualified competent instructors. To all who are looking to sail aboard, I suggest that you ignore the harsh comments submitted by Pete and take my word for it. This company is fantastic and will make your stay with them an amazing experience. |
| Comment by: John From: UK September 3rd, 2009 |
You are right Lill. These guys are the best by far. Excellent Company, Excellent Boats, Excellent People. If you want to learn to sail with the best, these are the guys |
| Comment by: David R From: UK September 28th, 2009 |
You can't please all of the people all of the time. This is ovbioulsy one upset customer but I'm sure there are hundreds more satisfied customers. Whenever we have sailed with All Abroad it has been nothing but a pleasure. The boats are in great condition and the Marian facilities may be basic but they are always clean and there is a LOT worse elsewhere! After a hot sticky day sialing, there's nothing better than a shower to get rid of the sun tan lotion and Gibraltas facilities are absolutely fine! I would recommend All Abroad to anyone! |
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