Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 24 November 2022

• 30°

More wondering around Ho Chi Minh, I feel like I have been here before. We stopped by the Russian Market but all that was mostly winter coats, and lots of them!

Staying at The Rivergate in District 4 this time.

Messaged Terry about visiting the boatyard tomorrow. which is Friday, 

This was his response:  "driver  off for weekend, i will be with customs  most of friday   and on scooter saturday    ,  can can pick you up monday  if you want   

container due 17 dec

Received email from Terry:

"PAYMENT 3

Invoice for payment  3   I will invoice p4  when container arrives which should be NLT second week in December  

 Just waiting on registration and MMSI  for h7  then I can set a sea trial date."

As you might recall on Nov 5th he told us the container would be here on November 29th.  He also told us the sea trial would be Nov 16th.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 25 November 2022

• 27°

The Max Cruise driver was not available to us on Friday, November 25th, so we hired a car.  We arrived at the boatyard at around 11:00am.  We met Tom Cutajar as Terry was not available to meet with us. 

We took a measuring tape and measured the wing deck to ground and transom step to ground which proved to us that the wing deck clearance is much less than 800 mm, as stated in the contract of purchase.

Tom Cutajar also mentioned to us that Terry had asked him to look into ordering the Jaffa steering system for Hull 8 which made us realize that there are still parts needed for the build of Hull 8 that have yet to be ordered.

During lunch, we took a quick look at Hull 7, and measured the same components as Hull 8 above. They were putting on the anti-fouling and keels were on. Tom  told us that it would be leaving the yard mid next week.  However, Max Cruise had not made us aware of this even though we had asked several times and returned to Ho Chi Minh City to go on the sea trail of Hull 7. 

This proved to us, that Max Cruise has no intention of letting us see a rigged boat, a finished boat or letting us on a sea trial of a finished boat. They have made that crystal clear. 

We left the yard around 1:30pm

This whole process has been so stressful and disappointing.

The evening we went to the famous backpacker streeti-Bui Vien Street.

Bui Vien Street is known as the "Western Street" (Pho Tay) because of its Western culture-oriented features.

Bui Vien street, which comprises three main streets: Bui Vien, De Tham, and Pham Ngu Lao, is known as the "Backpacker District" by locals, which refers to the large number of backpackers who visit this area of Ho Chi Minh City. The backpackers often compare Bui Vien Street to Khao San (Bangkok's tourist street) and sometimes call it Khao San Saigon. 

It was hard to imagine Bui Vien street Vietnam as such a busy and bustling area as we see today, even for its residents. Before 1975, journalists and artists referred to this area as the International Intersection, referring to the five streets surrounding the Nguyen Van Hao cinema (now called Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theater). The name was popular among journalists and writers because the area used to be densely packed with printing shops and newsrooms.

After 1975, the quarter became a tourist attraction, especially for backpackers, explaining its alternate name: the Western Street. At the time, most visitors to Bui Vien Street Ho Chi Minh came from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. In 2009, the area became more crowded, attracting an increasing number of traders who came to do business.

On 15th July 2017, the street opened to pedestrians. On 20th August 2017, Bui Vien Street was officially designated as a walking street in Saigon. It is the second walking street in Ho Chi Minh City, following Nguyen Hue street. It is one of the most crowded streets in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Well it is supposed to be a walking street, but this is Vietnam, so of course there are scooters trying to weave their way through as well.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 27 November 2022

• 32°

We found an American ice cream shop in Ho Chi Minh so went in for a treat.  

As we were walking to Le Loi Street, we noticed a lot of activity at the Saigon Mall.  Looks like they are all set up for Christmas!

There is always something going on in Ho Chi Minh City,  today is the ASEAN Food Market on Le Loi Street from Pasteur Street to Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street. In addition, the festival features artistic performances and cultural exchange activities, such as an ASEAN art performance night, programs to introduce the tea, wine, and coffee arts of different countries, street art gigs, and bartending performances.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 27 November 2022

• 32°

Just hanging out today in Ho Chi Minh, I am tired of walking around the city, it is exhausting because of the traffic and so many people, fumes etc.  Our condo has a pool which is nice. 

I'm not sure what Terry thought when we told him we were coming to Vietnam in September to pick up the boat the he didn't think it might be a good idea to tell us that it wasn't ready. How long are we supposed to live in AirBnb's for? 

We went and watched the FIFA World Cup at InSaigon as Canada was playing Croatia. Another one of our go to places here in Saigon.  However it wasn't over until the middle of the night with the time change.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 27 November 2022

• 32°

A few days ago when we were trying to organize getting to the boatyard, Terry said that the car wouldn't be available until Monday so Chris replied that Monday would be great even though we already went on our own to measure the transom but we decided at this point we should probably just get our bags back as this is totally going sideways.  We are not planning on paying the 3rd installment so want to get our bags back before we tell him.

Terry's reply:

"Car is busy monday  with h7  gear and crew,   i thought you did what was needed  last friday".

We ended up agreeing that the driver will bring our bags back from the boatyard to The Riverside.

But then we got this message

PAYMENT 3

Hi Chris,  this is the final notice for payment  of the above invoice.

We will try one more time to get an answer about the transom space.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 29 November 2022

• 33°

We will try one more time to get an answer about the transom height.

"Julian,

Can you please confirm the wing deck clearance on Hull 6 and by default Hull 8 as per my email below sent on November 26, 2022? As I measure the wing deck clearance is only around 400mm which is extremely low. 

If the wing clearance is below the 800 mm advertised, specified in the contract and confirmed by Terry Dewhurst in June can anything be done to correct the issue to the specified 800 mm? If so, what would be the remedy?

I need an answer today as Terry Dewhurst is making a payment demand and this is part of the inspection process to ascertain the vessel's readiness to proceed."

Here are a few examples of what Terry had said when we had previously asked

"2022-06-15, Terry Dewhurst        -Yes its a lower stern in pic,  with matt jules me  steve and 4 others back there plus 260 lt petrol aft of bh8    i will not allow petrol in living area,   the height of the  bridgedeck was 815  at  8400 kg             

 2022-06-15, 5:26 a.m.    Whats App          Chris Ellsay          It does look nice and great clearance in the picture!! So you think based on the weight of our options, fuel, water, food, stuff should be above 800mm?

 Terry,   i would say you will get 800   even with food for 3 months

And we did receive an email back from Jules:

"I am still unsure how you measured the bridgedeck clearance based on the below measurements you provided.

 At light ship displacement of 8000kgs the wing deck clearance will be 800mm.

The CE survey is based on a max displacement of 9500kgs. I will provide you with a theoretical immersion rate which will indicate the bridge deck clearance at different load displacements.

 65kg- Additional fridge incl wires and ventilation base.                                                                                                                                                           

84kg-  50m  extra 8mm chain                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

95kg-  Spinnaker and code  plus extra cordage and clutches

266kg-  Hybrid motors compared to the standard beta 30  as specked  are 94kg per motor  plus  5 kg for extra cooling system  and 34kg of wire per engine 

220kg- Additional fuel tank and fuel                                                                                                                                                                   

200kg- Additional water  tank and water  

127kg-  Additional aircons AC 240   including fluids

198kg-  Additional solar arch       

??? - Tender

1255kg"

After another few emails Chris responds "

"If you are 100% positive it is 800 mm maybe Terry, Tom, Daniel, Christine and I should measure tomorrow together at the yard. Christine and I are here so live testing is possible"

Response: "Need to check goverment visit schedule   but i am pretty shure Friday -: 1030   should be ok   for 30 minutes"

This is the first time we have ever heard about a government schedule to visit the yard.  Terry is making it harder and harder for us to visit the yard. 

Nov 28th is Monday so he wants us to wait Until Friday Dec 2 until Hull 7 has left  the yard so that we do not see Hull 7 in person.

We were talking to Hull 7 owners a few weeks ago and they told us that Terry has hired friends of his from Australia to help them sail the boat to Phuket so he does not want us to do it.

At his point we cannot go on with this build, working with this builder.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 1 December 2022

• 33°

We sent Terry a what's app message if he would be willing to cancel our contract. We have been talking with friends of ours from Victoria who were lawyers in Singapore and they helped us create a Mutual Agreement to Terminate the Contract.  He replied immediately a very enthusiastic "YES".

Now we are negotiating when! First he said 3 months.

We have no home and have been homeless for three months so will need to purchase a boat. We need payment sooner then three months.

Terry has deleted us from the Max Cruise Facebook Group!

So now he is saying repayment can be made in 6 weeks as things like the jeffa steering was special order.

We replied that Tom stated the jeffa had not even been ordered yet for the October 5 completion and that we are not claiming for damages for breach of contract.  We lost revenue by ending work and have been paying for hotels and living for 3 months already.

Now he is saying 4 weeks for repayment but that Julian has agreed to cancel the contract.

We finally agreed for 2 weeks so we could get it done before Christmas.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 1 December 2022

• 33°

Well we are celebrating today. It is of course bitter sweet as Chris spent hundreds upon hundred of hours for the past 2 years dealing with this boat build. 

And now that the deal is no longer,  we have to stay here as we have already bought plane tickets for the kids to come down here for Christmas! ughh!!

We did a pub crawl today- 151 Đ. Bến Vân Đồn, Craft Beer - East West Brewing Co. - Sai Gon, and 7 Bridges Craft Beer Taproom & Restaurant / Lê Thánh Tôn

Lots of craft beer here, but I actually prefer the local fresh beer Tui from the little kegs.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 3 December 2022

• 32°

We found a place to store our bags -Saigon Storage- he is going to come and pick up our bags so that is very convenient as they are very difficult to manoeouver.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Vietnam

• 3 December 2022

• 32°

Well it is our last day in Saigon until Christmas. We are going to go back to Thailand and come back one more time! Fortuanatley, the kids are flying into DaNang so that will be alot easier than here.

Cancelling this boat contract works really well for Terry as now he will be able to get caught up on his sales.  Hull 9 was his hull so I guess he will be taking our boat. Plus we are the first person to sign a contract and the prices have increased as I think at the end with all the delays and shipping fees, he was not going to be making much money on our build. 

We tried to go somewhere that we hadn't already been to yet so we walked over to Turtle Lake in District 3.

It is not really a lake. Sitting at the intersection of several main streets of the city, It is both a relic of the old Vietnamese society and an entertainment destination.

Turtle Lake is a unique roundabout in Ho Chi Minh City, which is the intersection of three streets named Tran Cao Van, Pham Ngoc Thach, and Vo Van Tan. Although it is located in District 3, it is not far from the city center – District 1 so it is very accessible.

In 1837, Ba Quai citadel was demolished and Phung was built with a smaller size. When the French captured Phung citadel, they razed the citadel and renamed it Gia Dinh, then proceeded to re-plan the whole city.

In 1878, a water tower was built here for the purpose of supplying water to the people nearby.

In 1921, the water tower was demolished because it was no longer able to supply enough water for everyone's needs. Since then, this location has become the intersection as it is today.

Saigon Turtle Lake was built between 1965-1967 by architect Nguyen Ky. From 1970 to 1974, the lake was restored and built with 5 tall concrete columns shaped like five hands spread out together. The main tower has a height of 34 meters with a large octagonal fountain with 4 copper spiral walkways leading to the central area of ​​​​the memorial. There is also an alloy turtle statue on its back with a large stone stele inscribed with the names of countries that recognized the Republic of Vietnam. Therefore, the folk named this place Turtle Lake.

Turtle Lake Saigon is the area where many people both local and foreign tourists often come to gather, talk and watch the streets as there is a lake with green trees around, and the atmosphere is extremely cool. You can also go up the steps to sit while enjoying the cool wind and admire the bustling and dynamic scene of the streets.

There are a few food stalls around Turtle Lake Saigon, you can just order a cup of iced tea, some sour and spicy mango pickles, a box of fragrant yellow rice paper, and sit there for the whole day, chat with friends.

On the way back we stopped a new bar called Barb Wire.  It's based on a 1996 American superhero film starring Pamela Anderson. A strange theme for a bar but we had a great time and nice owners.

We have really seen alot of Ho Chi Minh City.  The last pic is my Google Maps with all the pins of places we have been. 

When we left Canada I thought we would be here for a few weeks then we would be sailing to Thailand.   Never did I think we would be here waiting for 5 months then cancelling the contract.  

We will come back one more time for Christmas with the kids.

Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.

Augustus Hare