Lake Geneva Boat Line

If you don’t like the water, this is the company for you. «Sail» with them once and you might never have the urge to sail again.
We booked their 30 foot sailing catamaran for a two hour sailing excursion around Lake Geneva. The trouble began when the crew couldn’t untangle the spinnaker. Which they planned on using since after motoring out into the lake and sitting for a good long while, the salty young Cap’n decided the main sail wouldn’t work because there wasn’t enough wind. A spinnaker, is, by the by, normally used when you want to sail with a good strong downwind. It acts as an airfoil. At this point we should of realized we were in trouble. The plan was to mount it off the side of the boat and get pulled — by the wind that wasn’t enough for a main sail. Perhaps physics are different on Lake Geneva and I’m being too hard on the boys. And in the end it didn’t matter because they couldn’t get it deployed anyway. They couldn’t even get it all the way out of the bag. So we sat. And we sat. And we asked them to try the main sail. We got attitude. We got grumbling. They explained there just wasn’t any wind. As we looked longingly off in the distance at the other sailboats moving about the Lake. Finally, after sitting in one place rocking and eventually getting fully nauseous from it, we asked them to just call it a day and motor back in. We then asked why, if the sailing conditions were impossible, nobody spoke up to say so — before heading out to sit on the lake for well over an hour to watch them struggle with gear they couldn’t operate. We were told (quite angrily) that we should of just appreciated being out on the water. Then they told us if were disappointed they’d offer us a refund. Then after starting the refund they changed their mind about the amount. It would be a smaller amount and they were only doing it because they were «really nice» and we were «jerks» but because of their «super-​niceness» they’d give us about ¼th of our money back. (Down from the half they started writing up a moment before) They also decided to add that we were ungrateful people and we were costing them money and we (again) should of just appreciated being out there with them. We said we’d settle for a refund of half and call it a day. Half seemed fair as the boat was only slightly filthy and the sails were able to come out about halfway of their bags and the crew was able to tie off and hold about half the ropes and lines. Fair’s fair, right? I guess not. The «captain» who appears to be a pudgy spoiled kid from a family that must own a lot of boats and lakefront property started yelling at us about how he’d been sailing all his life — I don’t know how much time that could of been as he wasn’t very old, and clearly, form the looks of him, he’d also made a lot of time for pizza, beer, and donuts. He said he’d give us half back just to be rid of us, and that my wife was just a miserable person, and would be miserable doing anything she ever does. It’s lovely that he’s such an intuitive young man with a deep understanding of behavioral psychology. (Unfortunately that’s a more accurate description of me, but that’s probably beside the point) I applaud him for his insights and they fully make up for his complete lack of customer service skills. And, of course, the lack of anything resembling a knowledge of sailing skills. He reminded us again, now quite loudly, how anyone else on the lake would be thrilled to be out where we were. Which may be true. But sadly is not the point. We booked a sailing excursion, not a pontoon boat ride. There’s quite a difference. And a boating service might be expected to understand that. If a nice restaurant brings me a lobster when I order and pay ahead of time for a steak, I really don’t think they should yell at me and call me «miserable» or «unappreciative». I paid you for something. If you can’t deliver, just tell me for crying out loud. We’ll figure something else out if you’ll be honest and upfront. But don’t try and pass off something else and then get mad at me for being disappointed. We walked away with half our money refunded, which he said he’d give us just to never have to see us again. I told him if he refunded us fully we’d leave even faster, but he didn’t bite on that one. Perhaps we’re lucky to have half back. And to have gotten back to shore at all.
Lake Geneva is an adorable little town by the by. Happy we got to check out the town anyway. And we had a great picnic — off the boat.