2008

DEVESTING YOURSELF OF CREW

So it’s Dec ’08, Thalia, myself and the ever lovely Isabella and I are in American Samoa, I’m working in a boatyard (see manlifts) Isabella wants to return to Cartaenga. In point of fact I want her to return as well, especially as I’ve just discovered the cruising kitty is down $1500. She took the money to self publish a book of poetry, an admirable goal and one I would have possibly approved of had she actually asked me for the money. So I started looking on Travelocity.com for airline tickets. The 1st problem we ran into was her multiple entry American visa had expired, the closest embassy is in New Zealand, the 2nd was getting from American Samoa to Samoa where the international airport is, it’s so close to Christmas the flights are booked. But fear not, Isabella has made a friend of a travel agent who is holding a ticket for her to Samoa. I find the best price I can $1500, from New Zealand to Cartaenga and call her friend who assures me that she can get Isabella to NewZealand no problem, so I innocently ask if she wants to do the rest of the trip and I’m looking at the website for $1500. “I’m on it” she assured me. Three days later there was no activity on my Visa card so I called the travel agent back and inquired, “Oh yeah, done deal.” Sure enough the money disappeared. Then I contacted old cruising friends in New Zealand who found her a cheap hotel in Auckland, then I promised her $100/day for the potentially 10 day stay in Auckland.

Departure day eventually came around and I paid the overweight luggage charge while wondering how her stuff could be so big and heavy, I later discovered she’d gone to the trouble of stealing everything she could lay her hands on, like bottles of shampoo contained water. Unbelievable. So she departed tearfully and I promised to bring her back when she was ready. Yeah right. So I’m back at work a few days later and Kelly, the secretary asks me to come to the office. “There’ll be an incoming call for you from Isabella in 10 min.” she explains. Cool. Isabella tells me that flights to Cartagena are a lot more expensive than she thought. “But you have tickets” I reply. “No I have cash, but not enough” I hung up abruptly and called thee travel agent and demanded an explanation. “Well, the client wanted cash” came the explanation. “Whose name was on the card??” I asked reasonably. “Why yours of course” was the answer. “Wouldn’t that make me the client then?” “Possibly” came the answer. I kind of lost it then and told her that was credit card fraud and she was an idiot. Then I called the bank and explained the situation. Their response was “No way.” Was their response “Way” was the reply. “Ok, we’ll investigate” they came back with. I thanked them and called my friend Jennifer who was working as an assistant prosecuter in Am Samoa, and explained the deal to her. “No way” she said “Way” Isaid she asked if she wanted me to let her call the travel agent on my behalf? “Please” We got together for boat drinks, another cruiser, and she told me the travel agent agreed to send proof of purchase of the tickets as Jennifer requested. Three days later having heard nothing from the travel agent she followed up, the travel agent sent her a Travelocity cut sheet of the proposed trip with c/w the tagline at the bottom saying no confirmation until payment received. Jennifer called the agent back and explained that was not proof of anything. The agent hung up on her. Jennifer then advised me to call the police as it was clearly credit card fraud. Now I started to truly panic, Isabella is a lawyer and while not the sharpest knife in the drawer (see harnesses) she understands immigration law, and I figured she’d Western Union the $1200 she’d received from the agent to Cartagena then present herself to immigration in new Zealand, they would definitely send her back to Am Samoa, obviously at my expense. Like I said I was a bit freaked out and made the unbelievably poor decision to flee Am Samoa So I explained the situation to my boss at the boatyard. “No way” he said “Way” was my response. Then I cleared out for Fortuna Island, but while getting ready to leave realized that I needed to resolve the situation as I really wanted to sail to New Zealand and didn’t want a warrant for my arrest awaiting me there. So I went back to customs/immigration Am Samoa and explained what had happened. “No way” they both said “Way” my now standard response. Immigration pulled her passport up on the computer, I confirmed that was Isabella and they explained that this happened all the time with fishing boat crew and the airlines were notified that she couldn’t return to Am Samoa. Which probably left immigration New Zealand the only option of sending her to Columbia, not a perfect solution. Then I went to the police and you can guess what they said and promised to look into it.

Two weeks later I’m working and 2 detectives pull up and tell me the chief wants to speak to me, oh good, as I’m working illegally I assumed the worst. The chief went over my complaint with me and said… yeah, you got in one.

What ultimately happened on the 3rd interview with the agent the police were told to talk to her lawyer, my bank had asked me to keep them updated as events unfolded. At this point the bank had withdrawn the funds from the agency’s account now the owner of the company is pissed with the agent as well, she was given the option of doing jail time or working for free for 2 mths to reimburse the agency, the agent took the 2 mth option. The bank on getting a copy of the police report credited my account with $1500, Isabella found a cheaqp flight to Santiago and from there Cartagena. So in the end everyone lived happily ever after, amen.

If I’m lyin…