Dear Sir,
I refer to the comments in the local newspaper regarding the lack of work for Palma boatyards and if my experience is common, they only have themselves to blame.
As a retired boatyard manager and surveyor, a Spanish friend of mine recently asked me to review the invoice he had received for work carried out in a Palma boatyard.
Without getting into details, words fail me to describe my disgust when on analysing the charges for various jobs and items that were shoddily carried out; in my opinion about one third of the total bill would have been expensive!
At the time the work was being done my friend was in ill in Madrid and unable to supervise the work for himself and this is just one of the ´rip offs´ which are going on and why owners are seeking alternative destinations for wintering and maintenance.
If a person can afford a boat, in most cases (although not all) it’s not because he or she is stupid.
Capt David Morgan, Palma
Dear John,
Regarding your point of view of the web page balearsnautic.com included in the magazine ´The Islander´, I must say I feel deeply affected due to the fact that not only me but also other members of the nautical sector have invested a lot of time and effort to improve and consolidate the promotion of the local marine business.
With this, I do not deny that the web page certainly has some mistakes. What is more, although I do not completely agree with you, I have to thank you for looking over this page and informing us of the discrepancies in the English language. Mistakes are always positive in the sense that they allow us the possibility of learning from them and enable improvements to be made.
Our Association, in our capacity as representatives of the nautical business sector, has attended some of the meetings held to inform about the development of the web page project subsidized by the E. U. through the Chamber of Commerce. Although our Association has been at times critical about this project from the very beginning, our attitude towards this issue has always been one of collaboration. In other words, we have done our best to help this portal become a real support and promotion tool for the Balearic nautical sector.
It is in this respect that I consider some of the comments published in ´The Islander´ to be very unfair. In the same way, I think it is not acceptable that the ´English spoken´ members of our Association have not offered any positive answer in supporting their group, even when we have made great efforts to integrate them into the nautical sector by, for example, promoting a parallel Board of Directors composed exclusively of English spoken members.
I consider that as an English citizen and expert in the English language, you should have chosen the forum of the Nautical Business Association as the right site for making these constructive criticisms. As president of the Association, I offer you my collaboration for trying to overcome this situation as much as possible. It is known that ´united we stand´, and due to the current unstable situation our sector is going through, you must know too well that now more than ever we must stand together. This union will allow us to be more influential when dealing with the Public Administration and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce.
To conclude, I must say that what is really disappointing about your article, is the words you have chosen to express yourself: Ironic and insulting phrases such as saying that this project was appalling, that it was a waste of time and that nobody will ever use it.
I think that opinions can be given all the same, but keeping good manners and respecting others is important too. You should not forget that the English community of Spain are living in a foreign country, where we make great efforts to make you feel at home. Differences and cultural difficulties are inevitable, but you should recognize our effort instead of looking down
on us.
Yours sincerely,
Margarita Dahlberg
President of the nautical section of PIMEM
Dear Margarita,
Thank you for your letter which I will be able to put into the October issue.
You seem to be confused about what is my opinion and what are words used by other people which I have quoted.
The words "appalling, a waste of time, no body will ever use it" are not mine but from others that obviously feel strongly about things.
It is also important to note that the comments quoted by The Islander were from people who are very much in the local marine business and therefore are qualified to have every right to comment.
In fact I could not print some comments are they were quite rude indeed!
As regards the incomprehensible and ridiculous English in the website- I stand by what I said.
You mention collaboration.
There could not have possibly been any consultation by whoever put up this section of the website with a native English speaker.
If such collaboration had existed there would probably have been no criticism.
John Rule
Ed´s note: Some changes have been made to the website since this exchange of letters but I´ll leave Master Bates to comment!