Crime in the Med

	Incredible, flexible prices: It is one thing to change prices to maximize the season. The blackboard approach in a cafe in Bonifacio, Sardinia, illustrates the issue. Prices rose in June, again in July, to a high in August, and then back to June's prices for September. For example, a one bedroom, one bath condo in Porto Rotondo, Sardinia, was advertised to rent for 1,000 € in June, 2,000 € in July, 3,200 € in August, and then 1,000 € again in September. But Jackie has a real problem when she orders a cup of tea in Gibraltar to discover that it costs 3 £ ($6). Or to order water in Ajaccio in a small cafe only to receive 8 ounces for 2.50 € ($3), the same as a 12 ounce can of Coca-Cola. No matter how hard she tried, she was always suckered into paying more than she thought or wanted, at least once per port.
Police Sting: And then there was the evening in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where Chris noticed several reconnaissance planes flying overhead as the megayachts were docking in a frenzy. All of a sudden several police boats roared into the harbor and secured positions around the megayacht area. It did not take much imagination to understand that this was some kind of a sting operation as the helicopters rotated above and the police motorboats circled below. After a while, they all left in a flurry. We never did find out if they got their man or if some king of some country on one of the megayachts complained and the Italian government told the police to leave!
	Thief from Other Cruisers: Another American sailboat preceded us to anchor in the inner harbor at Andratx, Spain, during a significant blow causing major swells in the outer harbor. While anchoring, they engaged a Dutch boat's anchor and in the process of disengaging the two, the hysterical owner of the Dutch boat jumped onto the American boat, took control of the wheel and then rammed his own boat. Later the Dutch owner demanded 1,500 € ($1,800) to "satisfy" any legal claim he might have to restore the damage to his hull. A quandary. The American owner decided that it was safer to pay him and leave Andratx in good conscience without fear of retaliation than to spend his summer dealing with the Dutch owner. What would you do if someone jumped on your boat and wrestled the wheel from your hands?
Inadequate workmanship: It's a real problem to hire unknown workers aboard. Not only is there a language barrier, but they know that you will sail away, most likely never to return. The incentive to render quality service as a craftsman to a transient yachtie is sometimes slim. We encountered this problem in Almerimar when we left our boat on the hard during the month of May and asked the yard to redo out antifouling. Yard rules did not allow cruisers to work on their own boat while it was on the hard. Also the paint we chose, Micron 66, required "professional application." Imagine our surprise two weeks after we left the port when we discovered that the paint was peeling off. Seems like the workmen did not prep the hull before applying the paint because "it was not on the work order." No one would accept responsibility for the bad job. In a more serious vein, Anne and Olivier Lay aboard Rama discovered that their life raft container was empty after they had sailed for two years in the South Pacific. Seems like the outfit that repacked the container before their trip was a little richer than they were entitled to be. Overcharging for services: We met an American boat in Olbia, Sardinia, who were charged 600 € ($720) to have their holding tank pumped out after a transcarrier passage from Florida. Luckily all they had was 200 € which the vendor accepted as full payment.