A row over a small dent on a yacht has escalated into a public spat involving a businessman who is also a stalwart of South Africa’s sailing community.
Mike French, a property developer based in Richards Bay, is the former mooring commodore at the Zululand Yacht Club. But faulty anchoring caused his large catamaran to hit a visiting German cruising yacht during a stopover in Hellville, northern Madagascar.
French, who was not on board at the time on August 30, reportedly acknowledged blame and offered to repair the damage to the smaller yacht owned by Kristian Isringhaus, who is circumnavigating the world.
Things turned sour when French later disputed the extent of the repair job, and the row burst into the public domain this week after Isringhaus aired his grievance on the cruising WhatsApp group Sail to South Africa.
“This is more about principle,” Isringhaus said from Durban, where he is taking a break before heading across the Atlantic.
“I'm a circumnavigator on a tight budget, while Mike is a rich real estate developer with a law degree. He thinks he can just push me around, and I don't like that. I've been considering reporting the incident to South African water police to see if his licence can be revoked, but I also can't allow this to affect me so much because I have other things to do.”
French dismissed the incident as trivial: “It's a very insignificant matter. Our two boats rubbed. His boat has been repaired by me at my cost as a gesture of goodwill. I regard the matter as over and do not wish to engage on it further.”
Isringhaus, however, said: “The problem is that he promised to lend me a car to make good for my hassle, which he then refused without offering anything else. And he promised to have the damage professionally repaired to my satisfaction, which he didn't.
“There were four witnesses to the incident, including the one who bravely wedged his dinghy between the boats. If he thinks anchoring the way he did is good practice, then that makes him a menace in any anchorage.”
Many in the sailing community were surprised to see the dispute go public, with both sides posting views. French declined to comment further this week but did respond on social media, criticising Isringhaus for making unreasonable demands: “Yes, our vessels did bump, and two very small scratches was the result. I did offer Kris cash on the spot but he declined. He wanted a vast sum of money as punitive compensation.
“I then offered to have it repaired. I was sailing abroad and made arrangements to have the boat repaired. I also insisted that the colour be professionally matched by independent specialists. The boat was repaired by a professional who I remunerated. The cost of the repair was much less than I offered Kris. The area repaired was finally polished and buffed. Kris insisted that his entire boat be buffed and polished so it all looked the same. We obviously refused to do that.”
Isringhaus insists the repair job fell short of expectation: “He sent his development company's project manager instead of a professional, and now he says it's unreasonable that I want the dents and scratching addressed — they are minor, I'll admit, but that makes it even the more awful that he won't just take care of them.
“Friends of mine who are here in Durban with me told me they know four other boats that were hit due to someone else's bad anchoring etiquette and never saw a dime.”
He said he had e-mailed a complaint about French’s behaviour to the Zululand Yacht Club.
Cruising experts weighed in on the dispute, which they described as commonplace in sailing, particularly in congested areas subject to sudden wind squalls. “The rule of thumb is last in, first out,” said a veteran who didn’t want his name drawn into the spat. “When you arrive at an anchorage you are supposed to imagine where the anchor is and where boats are lying, and then describe an arc around that.
“It can be super difficult to understand where a boat will swing and mistakes happen, but you shouldn’t leave your vessel — at all times you should have a watch on your vessel or somebody on standby to intervene.”
Social media commentators were quick to add their voices: “That is just appalling behaviour of that cat,” said one. “Every boat is responsible for anchoring safely, so if you are the last in, you need to take all other boats into consideration. We also check with nearby boats after anchoring, to make sure everyone is comfortable.”
Another implored both parties to take their exchange elsewhere: “This is now the end of any conversation or discussion on this subject on this platform. I will delete further comments,” fumed Jenny Crickmore-Thompson, director of the Ocean Sailing Association of Southern Africa (Osasa) and WhatsApp site moderator. “The people concerned can take it offline, not here.”
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