survey on expensive charter

[NightAngler]

Doing some ground work here. Looking forward to hear any comments & participation in the poll is much appreciated

reference to boat shown in following thread,
Fishing Kaki Forum :: View topic - The Black Watch

Will you book a charter given rates as follows?
Option 1) Local day trip - SGD 1000 (max 5 anglers if booked for fishing. Max 8 for leisure/party cruise)
Option 2) Local night trip - SGD 1000 (max 5 anglers if booked for fishing. Max 8 for leisure/party cruise)
Option 3) HB 2D1N - SGD 2000 (max 4 anglers)
Option 4) SCS 2D1N - SGD 2500-2800 (max 4 anglers)

Rates includes bait & free flow of soft drinks
Typical meals included for HB/SCS trips

Had been invited to fished onboard the Blackwatch & at the helm for a few times.

General info which I'd gathered for the boat
1) Pretty fast boat having twin screw(engines) with good riding comfort even in moderate sea state(1.5-2M). Cruise 18-22 knots with max of 29 knots
2) Well equipped with full range of high end Raymarine electronics(radar, finder, chartplotter, autopilot), EPIRB, VHF
3) Air con cabin comfort, proper sleep quarters, head(wash room & shower), fridge, freezer, TV, VCD/DVD, microwave, swim platform etc.
4) Twin live baitwell, squid lights, rod holders. rocket launcher etc. but not equipped for game fishing(fighting chair/outrigger) as owner is a hardcore bottom basher
5) Though boat has good range up to SCS/Aur, it has limited fresh water capacity(350L) & there isn't any freshwater maker onboard

Will try to work something out of it as an interim if full-time job hunting process is still not successful when NE monsoon is over.

I was thinking demand for such service is probably higher when proposed IR operation is in full swing.

In any case, if there's any boat owner around who's also keen to lease out their boat on a "as & when" basis, I'll be very keen to discuss further. An ideal boat for local waters I have in mind will be an Albin as the operating overhead is lower & rates will be more friendly.

[MarkR]

Interesting YS!

Have a friend in Bali who is a consultant to the owner of a GB (GB owner is based in JKT). Friend was a captain like yourself but based in Guam for several years and helped retrofit the GB. Now serves as fishing consultant + ops manager. He saw the potential a nice boat has for crusing, fishing etc and liaisies with hotels/resorts to get customers.

Hope it will work out for you!

Cheers,

Mark

[edylie]

Hi YS,

I think it depends very much on the type of fishing and fish that will be caught ...

If an angler knows the particular place has big mama dogtooth or GT ... they would be more willing to pay a premium to fish in that area.

Just my 0.2cents
Edy

[Makaira]

Hi Edy,

YS is talking about local & HB / SCS charters on a fast boat. So defintely no doggies or GTs One also has to bear in mind that no matter the location or how much a charter charges, there is no guarantee of catching fish either

YS,

With prices ranging from SGD200/pax for local to SGD700 for SCS, I believe there will be a market albeit a small niche; especially the 2D / 1N trips.

When the fishing hots up for local groupers & angcho, paying $200 with bait and free flow of soft drinks included sounds like a bargain to me to be able to fish on a boat like the Blackwatch.

Wishing you all the success on this venture if you go through with it.

Best regards,
Makaira

[DaFrogman]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Have a friend in Bali who is a consultant to the owner of a GB (GB owner is based in JKT).

MarkR,

That would be Aaron right?.

YS,

Wondered how long you could stay away from captainng something...

Very best of luck if you manage to sort things out and get a suitable vessel. In the end, whilst fishing involves a lot of luck, a good captain and crew will always shine through even dismal fishing by trying hard and working hard (but you know that all too well already ).

Regards,

Saimee

[MarkR]

Hi DFM,

Yes, that would be Aaron, the 55kg Monster Amberjack man!

cheers

[NightAngler]

was happily drafting a long reply but "time out" when submitting & "back page" won't recover whatever written. Perhaps a longer time frame to be allowed when drafting reply. Seem like I just have to make sure I draft in document format the next time.

Till I find time to type again, thanks to all for your comments. Feel free to comment even if deviating from this poll subject as it may offer different perspectives like "relocating" to other operating grounds or tie-up with other operators.

[ragman]

Hi YS

As Mak says the rates for your propose charter rates are very reasonable when you don't even think of the capital costs involved. I beleive strongly that if you group with some outstation operator in sme manner. This charter will do well for you. I'll keep a look out for a 28" Albin if i hear of one willing to go work with you. I think the call of the sea is too strong for you to resist any more.

Tight lines buddy
Ragman

[edylie]

Originally Posted by NightAngler

was happily drafting a long reply but "time out" when submitting & "back page" won't recover whatever written. Perhaps a longer time frame to be allowed when drafting reply. Seem like I just have to make sure I draft in document format the next time.
...

Hi YS,

There is not any time limit when drafting, replying or creating a new post.

I think this issue could due to the "broken" connection from the ISP to the Data center but without any investigation, that is my safest bet only.

Another method is to draft the post in an external editor like Wordpad or alike

I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Best Regards,
Edy

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by ragman

I'll keep a look out for a 28" Albin if i hear of one willing to go work with you.

Don't think majority of charter customers give two hoots about the capital costs involved. All they care about is how much do I pay and MOST importantly, what & how many fish can I catch.

If the boat is an Albin single-screw 28 footer, the price structure listed by Yew Seng will not be relevant. YS proposed the prices based on a twin-screw 40 footer well-appointed sportfisher. YS, please correct me if I am mistaken.

[NightAngler]

Proposed prices are only applicable with the Blackwatch whereby a boat with twin screw is preferred going to far & outlying fishing grounds(wreck 12, SCS, Aur etc). Prices have also taken into consideration that premium fishing/exotic species are non existent besides the occassional bill at SCS/Aur.

When using an Albin, price structure will be 25-55% lower depending on trip itinerary.

Existing charters are operating in a very crowded segment & financial feasibilties are not attractive(if not feasible) in the long run taking into account capital investment/running overheads/capital depreciation/wear & tear replacement.

As what KK had replied, the segment that I'm looking at is small & niche(especially when fishing is concerned). However, when the 2 IR starts their operation in 3-4 yrs time, the prospects should be good for executive events/lifestyle/leisure/entertainment. There's also an obvious increase in our financial services sector with major companies like Merrill Lynch expanding & occupying a big portion of a new building.

Being familiar with fishing, I'm using it as a launching step but the final focus will be on the executive/expatriate/tourism segment which offer more decent cost recovery/return for the financier putting up such heavy capital investment.

There are ex-customers of my previous charter who had approached me to take over Nelayana's operation but am not encouraging it cause it's simply not financially attractive & offers very little capital return in the long run targetting the mass market.

Nelayana had been quoted in other forum on "relative expensive" aspects, a new Blackwatch is 4 times the cost of a new Nelayana. Being of different boat age, the Blackwatch is abt 6 times of Nelayana using current valuation. Perhaps this info can help to re-emphasize the small/niche market that's in discussion here.

[ragman]

Hi Mak & YS

I stand corrected. If the rates are for the black watch then it is very reasonable and i strongly believe the outstation anglers would be the correct market segment and plus a select crowd of locals who wants to fish on a proper gameboat with an excellent captian/guide, cheaper then flying out and chartering. This is great direction for the "upgrading" of the local fishing scene which is way over due. I recall we had a big game boar called "Warrior" or something like that from NZ or OZ parked in Pongol marina some years ago due bottom and game charter to SCS and Bintan etc but could not make the running cost and return o PNG or Pacific Islands.

Best of luck
Ragman