I happened to be one of the passengers on the "Disappointing Boat Trip"
Like the original poster, John, who we met on the boat, we also had two guests with us that day and had bummed up this boat trip to be the best thing since sliced bread to them.
The boat was unable to sail, which meant we didn't see much of the beautiful coast and drift into coves and bays for a swim.
We made it to Rabbit Island and that was about the full extent of the trip. The rest of the time we sat for hours anchored in the middle of the sea, just bobbing up and down miles from no where. The crew were thrusting fishing rods in our hands to try and keep us occupied.
The boats captain (Jerry's son-in-law) disappeared for a very long snooze below deck.
Looks like friends were obviously called in an attempt to fix the engine. The men drew up along side the boat and messed around for a bit, but it only got the engine going for what seemed like another 20 mins or so until it "died" again!
At the end of the day, Jerry came along with his other boat, with his happy passengers on board, (who obviously had a wonderful time on the other sea worthy boat) and towed us into the harbour.
All fellow passengers on board agreed it was not good value for money that day.
We were very calm, civil and talked with him about the poor service and we offered to pay half for the food.
Jerry admitted that he has had some trouble with the engine recently on that particular boat. He said to us that he didn't think it would have been as bad that day!! Also he said, I put you eleven people on this boat because I did not want to crowd the other boat and you were older (average age 40 & 50!) and I thought you would like a quieter and more gentler paced trip!
Well in my opinion, the boat was not fit for purpose, but looks like he was determined to keep it going until the end of season.
Sounds like it was, "Fingers Crossed" the boat will go okay today, or was it, "Fingers Crossed" the passengers don't complain today.
Maybe both!
Well sadly for him that day, he got passengers that were not the "Shut Up & Pay Up" type!
His reaction to our complaints at the end was quite ridiculous. He was unable to handle any form of criticism whatsoever.
It was a great pity, as my last experience on Jerry's boat was fabulous.
But as others have pointed out - there are now other boats offering the same excellent service and food that Jerry became known for - many a good bit cheaper too.