TESTIMONIALS.
To Whom It May Concern:
As a novice first time buyer, I relied on Captain Ian Engelbrecht's
expert knowledge during the inspection trip to Durban to conduct a
thorough test sail and survey of a 34' Prout catamaran and help me to
make an informed decision by highlighting all the issues.
Despite several delays caused by faulty installations of technical
equipment arranged remotely with the agent, Ian managed to sort out all
the issues upon his arrival in Durban and delivered the cat quickly and
successfully with Ibi to Gordons Bay while providing constant updates to
me in the UK.
Over the course of a 4 month period Ian conducted a major refit of all
the cat's systems; including the installation of the latest electronic
navigational devices (chartplotter, radar and sonar), redesigned and
replaced the entire battery and solar power supply system, completed all
the outstanding marine plumbing and safety equipment, fitted new custom
sails and interior furnishings. Throughout this period Ian demonstrated
exceptional professionalism, technical knowledge and perseverance to
problem solve the many existing issues, complete the long list of items
and maintain excellent communications on the works list, costs and
progress updates.
After the completion of the above works Ian kindly took us on a 6 day
return trip around Cape Point to Club Mykonos in Langebaan lagoon for a
thorough test of the cat and demonstration of all the new systems which
worked superbly in a variety of conditions while making the journey a
great learning experience for all of us.
We can recommend Captain Ian Engelbrecht very highly as an expert
delivery skipper, surveyor and end-to-end project manager and would like
to congratulate him on the amazing job he has done
to transform our semi-completed "faulty towers" cat into a fully functioning and efficient offshore yacht!
Many Thanks
Ivan Saayman & family
Thanks Ian.
This is the second delivery you have done for our Lagoon 39. Like the
first delivery your meticulous planning and attention to choosing a
safe passage enabled your bringing our boat back to Cape Town in
pristine condition.
I have no hesitation in recommending your delivery skills to others or
using your services again sometime in the future. It has always been a
pleasure dealing with you.
Go well.
Regards
Wayne
Dear Ian
On behalf of my brothers and the owners of the Nautitech 82, I will
take this opportunity to thank you again on a job well done and have
taken the liberty to write the following recommendations that you could
use as you see fit.
To Whom It May Concern
We contracted Captain Ian Engelbrecht of Worldwide Yacht Deliveries to
deliver our Nautitech 82 power catamaran from South Africa to Turkey.
At no extra charge Ian surveyed the vessel in Cape Town and executed
repair work on the vessel to make it safe for the voyage. Despite bad
weather enroute Ian and his crew diligently ensured the safety of the
vessel and the success of the delivery. The vessel arrived in Turkey in
good condition and Ian and his crew spent three days on a cleanup to
ensure that the vessel was looking and smelling good.
We will certainly utilise the services of Worldwide Yacht Deliveries
again and have no hesitation in recommending Ian Engelbrecht as a first
choice delivery captain.
Daniel Benchetrit
Professional Recommendation: Ian Engelbrecht /
Worldwide Yacht Deliveries
We commissioned Captain Ian Engelbrecht to deliver a Lagoon 440
Catamaran from Martinique in the Caribbean to Mauritius, a journey of
some 9000 NM primarily into the weather in winter, and a vessel which
we had purchased through a Lagoon agent, sight unseen.
Whilst this journey would be a long and daunting task in its own right,
Ian and his crew were thrown what seemed like an endless onslaught of
curve balls at every step of the way, summarized as follows:
1. The seller had advised us that there was a
mooring available for the boat to use when we took delivery in
Martinique, so that we could check it over before departing, and we
were also assured that the boat had been dived and was all ok.
2. Immediately upon arrival Ian was told that
there was in fact no mooring available and they had to get off the
mooring immediately, but given the journey ahead was into bad weather,
Ian being a professional had the boat dived himself, and discovered
that there was a minor bit of undisclosed hull damage that needed
attending to immediately otherwise it would worsen on the journey. So
just 24 hours after arriving and being told there was no mooring
available, a quick plan had to be made to take the vessel to St. Lucia
and repair the hull on the dry dock – once there it also made sense to
re-do the anti-fouling, which was done over Easter with delay after
delay.
3. The next leg saw Ian sail down to Brazil in
what was meant to be the roughest part of the trip, and on arrival in
Brazil there was maintenance which also needed to be dealt with on site
without notice. Ian came through in every way and made it happen.
4. By this point it was winter in the Southern
Atlantic, and the plan was to sail across to St. Helena and then across
to Cape Town. This leg of the journey was into massive seas that could
very easily have taken the lives of lesser sailors and indeed lesser
vessels, in fact other boats we knew of in the area at the time were
also seeking safe harbour from the weather at Ascension Island.
An example of the type of status update Ian provided:
“It is one thing to sail downwind on a gentle North Atlantic high
pressure but quite another to tackle the South Atlantic and into the
weather and in winter. Having said that these continual gales so far
north are unusual. Unprecedented in my experience. Having no barometer
on board it was difficult to understand the systems in place but I know
there was a very strong, dominant high pressure in place. This though
would not have presented such winds and seas so there must have been a
strong low re-enforcing the high and to be so persistent it must have
been a cut-off low. These kinds of seas can be expected in the more
southern parts on approach to South Africa but these seas stretched
right across the Atlantic. It was a catch 22 situation as also the SE
winds veered north of St. Helena and backed west of it so we could
never find an angle. Waves had huge fetch so built up to 8 metres. Wind
speeds ran between 34 and 40 knots which I must say would be lessor
than the southern parts but still huge weather as we all know and we
were into. The ship reported very rough seas for example which is a
nautical term for strong gale - 40 to 45 knots. Gale ends at 39 then
onto strong gale. On turning to abort we did 7.5 knots boat speed with
no sails up bare poling.”
5. After a battle lasting longer than hoped,
Ian finally arrived in Cape Town safely with the vessel intact where he
undertook an exhaustive array of maintenance tasks on the boat to make
sure it was in perfect condition for the last leg, with each item
itemized for me to approve, project managing everything and keeping us
updated every step of the way. Also in Cape Town Ian helped me
facilitate various formalities we were undertaking in regards to
re-registering the boat, such as getting the surveyor on board and
supervising the new markings being affixed etc.
6. The next leg of the journey was to Gordon’s
Bay, then Durban. The Gordon’s Bay to Durban leg was done in one strike
of just 4 days, which we thought was exceptionally quick.
7. In Durban Ian arranged for a sail to be
replaced before setting off on the final leg to Mauritius, also into
bad weather with things being particularly rough south of Madagascar.
8. Finally after many months at sea, Ian
arrived in Port Louis safe and sound, where we finally saw our boat for
the first time under a clear blue sky – looking at it one would never
imagine that it had just been through the ordeal it had been through,
because it looked like new
I can honestly say that if it hadn’t been for Ian’s professionalism,
experience and character, this delivery could (and almost definitely
would) have ended in disaster.
I consider Ian to be absolutely reliable and true to his word. If he
says he will do it, it will be done, and for all of these reasons I
highly recommend Ian Engelbrecht and Worldwide Yacht Deliveries to
anyone in need of a delivery skipper for a yacht delivery to or from
anywhere in the world.
Yours Faithfully,
A & J Nicholas
Many thanks to you Captain Ian for
delivering our new Lagoon 39 catamaran from Les Sables, France to Cape
Town in such excellent condition despite such severe weather conditions
encountered. With so much bad weather around I requested that you take
no chances with either yourselves or the boat; thanks for heeding that
despite it being disadvantageous to you both timewise and financially.
Certainly you have happy customers in myself and my family and we have
no hesitation in recommending your services to others.
Thanks once again for a job well done!
Best Regards
Wayne Mackintosh and family
To Whom It May Concern
Captain Ian Engelbrecht and WORLDWIDE YACHT DELIVERIES has for the
second time done a very successful delivery for our company Maputo
Yachting. Sanjeeda, the vessel delivered, is the largest double masted
Dhow in the Indian Ocean with her 138 tons and 107 feet in length; she
is a very impressive and very special lady. The delivery from Pemba in
the north of Mozambique down to Maputo in the South is a challenging
delivery of 950NM. Captain Engelbrecht arrived after only six days and
the ship was in top condition. Congratulations Ian, we give you our
best recommendations!
Maputo 01.07.13
Wilhelm Dahl
CEO
Maputo Yachting
Hi Ian
I would like to express my appreciation to you and your first
mate for the professional manner in which you delivered my Jaguar 36
yacht Angelis from Cape Town to Richards Bay. I also want to thank you
for the taking upon yourself to repair the VHF radio and
stopcocks. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that
she looked in a lot better condition than when she was handed over to
you in Cape Town despite heavy going on route.
I was also impressed that you kept in constant contact with me,
advising me of your whereabouts and sailing conditions. I would
certainly recommend your services to anyone that would like to have
boat delivered.
Thanks for allowing Frans and myself to sail the last leg with you from
Durban to Richards Bay. It was most enjoyable to sail with someone with
your immense experience.
Best Regards
Clinton Swaffield
To Whom It May Concern
Captain Ian Engelbrecht was contracted to deliver our Leopard 46 from
the Seychelles to Mauritius and arrived in Mauritius on the 12th July
2012 after a very challenging ten days at sea.
He had to cope with atrocious weather conditions during the delivery
which took much longer than planned. Notwithstanding this he remained
on board on arrival in Mauritius and handed the boat over in immaculate
condition. He certainly went the "Extra Mile" to ensure that we, the
owners, were completely satisfied with the condition of the boat on
arrival.
Ian and his crew "Ibi" were extremely professional in every respect and
can be highly recommended based on our experience.
Peter Bacon
For Cajesa Cruises CC
18 July 2012
Maputo, Mozambique 03/01/2012
WORLDWIDE
YACHT DELIVERIES represented by Captain Ian Engelbrecht has one more time done a
successful
delivery from Europe to South Africa.
We
were recommended to contact Captain Ian
Engelbrecht from the head office of Lagoon in France
since we bought a brand new Lagoon 450 sailing catamaran from Bordeaux in 2011.
Agreement with Captain
Engelbrecht was done very quickly by phone and email and in less than
one hour.
Good
and cheap flight tickets to Europe
were organized and prepaid by WORLDWIDE YACHT
DELIVERIES.
During
the whole travel we were frequently
updated on the situation via SMS messages, emails and on satellite
phone.
Seven
weeks after leaving Europe and two
times of crossing the Atlantic Ocean we received the boat in top
condition in Cape Town.
The stainless
steal was shining, the deck was super clean and inside everything was
prepared
like a 5 star hotel.
We
are clearly very impressed and extremely
satisfied by the delivery done by Captain Ian Engelbrecht and his team.
It is
for us a pleasure to give WORLDWIDE YACHT DELIVERIES our best
recommendations.
MAPUTO YACHTING
Wilhelm
Dahl
Managing
Director
Donovin Cronning
Subject : Delivery of an ex charter Yacht - Wind of Change
To Whom it may concern
Captain Ian Engelbrecht of Worldwide Yacht Deliveries undertook the
delivery voyage of my 38ft Lagoon catamaran from the Caribbean to Cape
Town (South Africa).
The service included a full delivery service and Ian and his crew
undertook to meet with the charter company and accept the vessel from
them on my behalf – this is always a difficult task and Ian went beyond
what was expected and ensured that the owner received the best
possible vessel from the charter company. The vessel was made ready for
the long intercontinental voyage by Ian and his crew with a great deal
of professionalism and without any complaints from them during the
trying times.
The voyage had a number of setbacks (which were out of Ian’s
control) all of which were dealt with by Ian within the
call of duty and with no fuss – as the owner I always felt that we had
made the best decision for the circumstances at hand and that the
vessel was in the best possible hands.
The vessel arrived in Cape town in October 2010. It should be stated
that Ian and his crew put in an enormous amount of effort to ensure
that the vessel was handed to me in really good condition.
Ian Engelbrecht gave me professional service beyond expectations and I
would not hesitate to recommend him/Worldwide Yacht Deliveries
for any task of this nature at any time.
Regards,
Donovin Cronning
Hello,
Ian Engelbrecht has
delivered two Robertson And Caine Leopard 38ft
catamarans from
Cape Town SA to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas for this company. On
both occasions the vessels were delivered on time and in excellent
condition. Ian has proven himself to be thoroughly professional. In
the last three years we have had twelve boats delivered from Cape
Town.
The two vessels
delivered by Ian and his crew were
thoroughly documented
and in
the best condition on arrival.
I
have no hesitation in recommending Ian to any prospective
employer.
If you require any
further information,
please
contact me at your
convenience.
Sincerely,
Alistair
McDonald
Yacht Operations Manager
The Moorings, Bahamas