TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums Charter Boat Reviews and Questions Marolanga

If you are considering chartering a crewed boat to sail the Caribbean you will want to avoid the Marolanga. We have serious concerns about the “captain’s” fitness and are hoping that he soon receives the medical attention he needs. The “captain” repeatedly made racist statements and refused to “sail” the catamaran to those places that were agreed to prior to signing the charter contract. I have placed the word sail in quotes deliberately, for the 3 days we were on the Marolanga the engine was always engaged when the catamaran was moving. On the second day of the charter the “captain” told us that he needs surgery for a detached retina or he would go blind and that he has mobility issues are a result of knee damage. Note that we were only on the Marolanga for 3 days, this despite the fact we charter the boat and crew for 7 days. The crews’ (Gus and Marcella Korman) behavior became so intolerable that we ditched in Culebra.

Your complaint is very vague. What happened that made you cut short your charter? What remarks did he make that were racist? What was the reason for not putting up the sails?

1) I do not understand why you think my complaint is vague.
2) I refuse to be baited into repeating racist remarks. You don’t think being subject to on-going racist comments is sufficient reason to ditch the charter?

Sorry to hear your trip was not up to your expectation.

If you ever decide to do another crewed charter, you might check into some of the sponsors of this site. Many of us have direct experience with them, and have been quite happy.

You refuse to be baited??? You brought it up, so explain yourself.

The boat seems to be represented by some reputable brokers so I would be surprised if they are as inept as you report. I always find these posts interesting; bad boat or inexperienced passengers with unrealistic expectations.

I would suggest the next time you charter use a broker that vet's the crew although that is no guarantee based upon your expectations of what the world should be.

I am sorry that I refuse to repeat the Jewish "jokes", the Slavic "jokes", etc. that were made. If you do not believe me, that is your choice. I am offering up my experience. I do not understand what type of mentality would want to read the details of such sickness. From your response and that of sail445, I am becoming convinced that this is not a forum that I want to participate in.

So basically your saying you didn't like the charter because of ethnic jokes.
I'm sure if you would have said something they would have stopped.

This will be my (stkrebs) last posting to this forum. I do not understand the mentality of people who defend racists regardless of the circumstances. If it doesn't bother you, go for it, you and Gus can hang out together and share racist slurs.

For starters, let me say Welcome to the forum as no one has done that yet.

What you need to remember, is that this is a forum. Not a bulletin board. There's going to be back and forth and discussion. Since you are new, you have no history and no one here "knows" you. Your first post is a negative review of a boat and I think its reasonable for those reading to want added details.

As far as the racist comments are concerned, you first stated they were racist comments and then indicate they were racist jokes. Just because some tells jokes involving race, doesn't mean they are racist. I'm not saying he's not, but a little more info wouldn't hurt. It would also be helpful to know if you ever expressed to the Captain that you do not find racial jokes to be funny and could he refrain from them while you are on the boat?

Personally, for me to take a negative or positive review seriously, I need details. Almost to the point of a trip report.

Things in your case that would be helpful to know - what's your experience with boats? What were the conditions like? Lots of wind? No wind?

Was his telling you of his ailments an excuse for the way he was managing the boat/trip?

There's two reasons people post like you do. One is because they have a grudge against the captain and the other is that they had an issue and want to share and help others avoid it.

Assuming you are genuinely the latter, please share more so people can truly understand the issues at hand, how you dealt with it and how the captain dealt with it. I think this is what sail445 meant by your being vague - there's no details..

And if the comments here alone make you think this isn't a forum for you, you should really read the rest of the site and topics available.

Slavic jokes? Did they force you to watch Borat?

19 May 2012

I did not enjoy Gus telling me that he likes Jewish jokes and then proceeded to tell me a one that I perceived as being rather nasty. I didn't laugh. He does not know me well enough to say such a thing.

A bit latter, before we left St. Thomas, Gus said something along the lines of "You're the reason why I can't smoke." I took it as a poor attempt at humor and pointing out that he was not going to smoke which, by contract, he agreed to before the charter contract was finalized.

The first night chicken was prepared for dinner, for all, despite the charter previously having previously agreed to prepare meals for me that excluded those items that I do not consume. Gus did prepare a very small piece of fish for me after it was explained to him that I do not eat chicken.


After dinner, Gus decided to ask me why I do not eat meat and I shared a few reasons why with him. His response was that fish do feel pain. My response was that I am a hypocrite - fine, you’re right and I'm wrong (what do I care?).


20 May 2012

Behind his back, Gus criticized B. for putting too many olives in the martini he made for himself the previous night. O.K., just how petty/critical can one get? And no, Gus was not joking. B. should just have eaten the evidence.


After breakfast we snorkeled and Gus told has that he as a detached retina and needs to go to Puerto Rico for surgery or else he will go blind. We, of course, do not want to be responsible for anyone losing their eyesight. So, a change of plans, we are going to an island, or two, off the coast of Puerto Rico today and then tomorrow, or the day after, we will go to Puerto Rico and spend the remainder of the
charter portion of the vacation there. We are hopeful of seeing the bioluminescence that we missed when we previously visited Puerto Rico. The charter will be our sleeping quarters. Gus told us that he will pay for our change of flight plans to get to St. Croix as well as for
S. and B.'s change of flight plan expenses. As we found out, Seaborne Air does not charge for making such changes. When docking in Puerto Rico and still having a night on the Marolanga, Gus wants us to tell official parties that we are friends and not a charter.


We do resent that, knowing his need for surgery, the charter was not cancelled and we were not offered a refund. Or, now that we are on the catamaran we were not offered, at least a prorated, a refund. I do not need a tour guide to show me around Puerto Rico. To stay on the Marolanga, using it as a very small hotel room, is paying too much. The idea was to sail the BVI, not be docked in one place. At the least, Gus could have arranged for us to be on a different charter.


Despite contractual promises, certain areas of the catamaran smell of tobacco.


Email conversation with [our broker]:
“[our broker],
We have a bit of a dilemma, a bit after breakfast Gus told us that he has a detached retina and needs eye surgery so, we are heading to PR and should get there in a day or 2. The plan that was proposed to us what that Marcella would give has a tour of PR while Gus had his surgery and recuperated. The Marolanga would be our sleeping quarters for the duration of the charter. This was the only option presented to us. We were taken by surprise and agreed, but know we would like your input as to options/suggestions.
Thanks,”
End of round of email conversation with [our broker]


O.K. Things have been clarified. Rather than sail about the BVI we will sail about the Spanish Virgin Islands. All is well. We will dock in Puerto Rico on Friday (and have been asked tell customs that we are friends, not that we have chartered the Marolanga – is this legal?) and we were told that Marcella would show is around the island, that we would spend Friday on the catamaran and get off on Saturday, as scheduled.

Our broker called Gus and Marcella and spoke with them. Latter she called Gus and asked to speak with me.

Marcella is upset with me that we spoke to [our broker] before speaking with her and Gus. That's what you get for being the spokesperson. I can deal with it. This explains why, prior to her telling me this, Marcella told me that I talk too much. Funny though, changing plans after we have already left St. Thomas didn't seem to be a big deal to either Gus or Marcella. T. informed me that Marcella also told her that her husband talks too much.


Apparently, Marcella is upset because they need the money. They claim not have health insurance, etc. Well, if they are that desperate for money why have they been, and why are they continuing to treat us so poorly, and how could they afford to buy a Persian cat from a breeder in North Dakota and pay to have it flown to St. Thomas?


21 May 2012


I should not be counting the days until the charter is over.


According to Gus: St. Thomas could be a wealthy island but the people are all lazy and are all happy being on welfare. You can tell by looking at their faces that the people on St. Bart's are all inbred.


Despite promises, certain areas of the catamaran smell of tobacco.


Gus keeps telling us that we are going where we want to go and that he will take anywhere we want to go; that is, until we ask to go there.


We did not pay so much money for this much tension.


Gus is a racist and not just with regard Jews.


As of the end of Monday we are yet to sail, a sail might be up but we are always motor driven. Again, not the experience we paid for.


Real juice could have been provided, at least for breakfast. What is on offer is high-fructose corn syrup fake juice.


I can bash American's with the best of them. I do not need to be fed a steady diet of U.S. bashing and Germanic superiority.


I just tried to be nice and helpful to Gus, I know about anatomy, etc. and he seemed to be receptive. I suggested he try a certain type of brace and the response was that he did but it didn't work because it is "American [censored]".


I strongly suggest that all of Marolanaga's future charters be limited to ethnically pure Germanic people.

22 May 2012


Day 3 of being held hostage on the Marolanga.


All hell broke loose with Gus. Later we found out that this is the day final payment was moved from escrow to his account(?).


We are seriously concerned for Gus' mental health. We seriously hope that with proper medical intervention he will no longer treat people in the sadistic and racist manner that he is treating us.


The Marolanga is not safe environment for a person's mental health and, given Gus' claims about his health (he was "captaining" the Marolanga while claiming to have a detached retina and knee issues that limited his mobility), I am not sure that it is safe for him to be operating any type of transportation device.


Gus and Marcella practice mental cruelty. After either of them says something cruel, Marcella comes over and says, "I love you.". Gus would come over to T. and whisper in her ear "You think I don't like you."; he would come over and whisper in my ear "Aren't you talking to me?". The charter was fated to be a disaster as soon as Gus recognized me as being of Jewish heritage.


B. wanted to fish. Gus kept promising the opportunity to do so; the opportunity never arrived. Whenever B. asked Gus when he would be able to fish Gus replied anytime you want, whenever the request was made to fish B. was told that he could not do so at that time.


As we are motoring from Culebrita to Culebra S. saw a close-by island and asked Gus what island it is. He told us that it is Vieques. All four of us would like to go to Vieques to see the biobay - there is no moon so it is the perfect time to do so. Gus refuses to take us. Please remind me, who is paying who? He said we couldn't go because of the wind. O.K., he did tell us that he sailed the Marolanga across the
Atlantic Ocean. If he is no longer capable of such boating (i.e. getting to Vieques) he is no longer capable of running a charter.


23 May 2012


Gus reprimanded me for, after snorkeling, getting water on the Marolanga (wow, a boat getting wet, who would have thought?). As an American I will slip and fall and sue him (Gus) and the stupid American courts will award me money.

Despite U.S. law, the Marolanga discharges its waste when (moored to a buoy) in U.S. territory. One time I saw fecal waste being discharged from the Marolanga while T., S., and I were all in the water snorkeling in the vicinity of the Marolanga. This might explain why Gus never went into the water and why Marcella only got in the water before lunch on our second day out.



To avoid Gus and Marcella I stayed in the cabin on the motor drive from Culebrita to Culebra. When I got out of the cabin Gus was smoking. I had an allergic reaction. He told me it is O.K. because I can't smell it, and to prove it showed me that there was tobacco in what he thought were hidden ashtrays. Note that I had already been aware of this.

I have run out of cheeks to turn.

As we put our belongings on deck in preparation for ditching the charter Gus told T. that and I that we couldn't take our luggage with us.


At customs:
-Customs was not open and a call was made to inquire as to when it would open. Supposedly, if we could not clear customs we would not be allowed to spend the night on the island and would have to spend the night on the Marolanga and return to clear customs the next day. Our option would have been to spend the night in a Culebra jail. After not too long the TSA agents arrived and opened the customs office.
-Gus wanted to know where the TSA agent of Austrian heritage was.
-The agent who latter took me outside the room saw from my passport that I was born in NYC. He asked me when it started snowing there, - was he testing me to see if I really was from there? I said that it had been a while since I lived there but did make some guesses and mentioned when snow occurs in Buffalo, NY. Gus then told the agent that if he wanted snow he should go to Salzburg.
-Gus had told us that we had to leave our bags on the catamaran and then go back for them after clearing customs. One of the TSA agents asked us why we didn't have our bags with us.
-Gus told the TSA agents that we requested to be taken to Puerto Rico.
-A TSA agent suggested that we consider pressing criminal charges, though he did not know the appropriate venue for doing so.
- After I described events to the TSA agent who interviewed me he ask me if Gus is a Nazi. I replied that I did not say that and the TSA agent responded that he is saying that.
-TSA also questioned Gus about why fees that were supposed to be paid had not been paid and why a particular license (I do not know which) was expired and not renewed.
-When one of the TSA agents took me out of the room, Marcella asked Gus why the TSA agent was taking me out of the room. While the TSA agent was speaking to me outside of the customs office, Marcella went to T., patted her on the back and said "T., don't you know I love you.". T. got up, walked away while telling Marcella to stay away from her, Marcella followed T., the agent who had remained in the room stood up and told Marcella to get away from T. and sit down.
-The TSA agent who spoke with me then took Gus out of the room to speak with him and when the agent returned, sans Gus, he asked T., Marcella and I to leave the room so he could speak with S. and B.

Wow.. sounds like a nightmare. Thanks for posting the details.

Dang. I would not have been very happy either.
Sounds like you were taken for a ride.

Just wondering - after the first couple of days which clearly were a good indication of things to come, why didn't you bail? If some money was in escrow, couldn't you at least have got that part back?

No offense meant, just hoping others can avoid situations like this, but I think its best to cut your losses as early as you can. I think too many people try to make the most of an awful situation because they are on vacation and had a certain plan and don't want to change that plan.

I know its difficult to do once money has been laid out, but I wonder if you wouldn't have had a better trip if you had bailed day 2.

I'd also suggest never chartering a boat that has had a smoker on it. Once a place smells of smoke, there's little you can do to get rid of it. I'm sure there are plenty of Captained charters that do not smoke.

Can we all reserve judgement until Gus has his say?

No disrespect, but I smell a princess.

Been there, done that.

I smell someone who had never experienced racism. I also smell a sexist. Why the assumption that the author is female?

I smell a frustrated liberal who assumes and judges without the facts. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Sounds almost like you were abducted.. They should have given you your money back.
As for customs you quote:
(Gus had told us that we had to leave our bags on the catamaran and then go back for them after clearing customs. One of the TSA agents asked us why we didn't have our bags with us.)
Usually on a charter or private vessel when checking in your only required to bring your identification and the boat papers. If Customs is suspicious then they'll go to your boat a search it.

100% refund.

Changing from the BVI to the SVI because of the Captain's health (something he knew beforehand), would be enough for me to demand full reimbursement. The other stuff is inconsiderate, but changing the destination because the Cap'n didn't take care of his health problems is inexcusable.

Doug

From what I read the Captain didn't give them the trip they paid for and therefore should refund all the money paid.
If the Capt was sick he could have hired another captain to take his place. There is no shortage of Captains and mates.

Horrific story,
Any follow up communication from your broker? I'd be furious at them also, they should have been all over this from the first hint of trouble.

We promised the broker that we would keep them anonymous. We tried to be nice & when that didn't work we mentioned the possibility of a lawsuit. We received a full refund.

Wow. I have always gone on trips with the thought in the back of my mind that if it's that bad, bail - and maybe try to recoup later. NOTHING is worth that kind of trouble. And if you can get off the boat, you can get home...

(No offence to anyone that I have crewed with previously... LMAO...but I have been luckier than a lot of people!)

This story does not add up at all.
#1 Who goes on a BVI sailing trip and immediately agrees to go to PR?
That is in the opposite direction.
#2. I am a curly headed, big nosed guy in the jewelry business. Everyone immediately thinks I am Jewish.
#3. I just return with my family of four yesterday from a week long BVI cruise on Marolanga with Gus and Marcella and I can assure you they are not as described by this stkrebs guy. They are wonderful and great and gracious hosts. Very considerate and provided us a wonderful cruising experience. Gus was in good health, never made offensive or discriminatory comments at all, and allowed me to fish, to sail, etc. Whenever we wanted to. I totally disagree with what has been said and I totally recommend sailing the BVI on Marolanga. Our cruise was June 7 to June 14, 2012 and we plan to do it again next year with them.

I just re-read krebs postings. Give me a break. Talks about Nazi's..talks about Germanic race and ethnic purity. Who goes around looking for that? He is out of his mind or is a racist himself. He should look in the mirror and ask if maybe what he is looking at is the real problem. My guess is this guy has a history of not getting along with people. Funny how I just had a great trip. Yea...I could be wrong but I hate to see someone get injustly slammed in cyber space. Sort of like getting run over by the school yard bully.

..and as Tarheel John's yacht charter broker on this yacht trip, I can say that even though he is not a member of this board, he is not the boat posting anonymously..He actually was on the boat this past week.

As most expected this thread is locked. When or if we hear from the Marolanga we will post their response.