I need advice. Here's the situation:
My wife and I are retired and fairly new to sailing. A few years ago, after taking a couple of courses, we decided to buy a boat and hire an instructor to teach us, as well as run the vessel. That latter part was absolutely necessary for us to get insurance.
Everything has been going well: the guy we hired is very knowledgeable, has a great sailing pedigree, has his 100-ton Master rating, and has kept our old boat in great shape with constant maintenance and upgrades where needed and as agreed. He is not considered full-time staff, does not live on the boat, and he has other clients.
We have sailed intensely, and he has given our insurance the written assessment that we are fit to run and sail our boat by ourselves.
Personally, we get along very well and have taken him out for dinner, including once taking him and his wife out. Which is why this situation that has come up seems so out of place.
My wife and I were away for a month on a trip. Captain had been working all off-season on much-needed upgrades and maintenance. We are in constant email contact not just regarding the boat status but also about family issues.
Upon our return, Captain informs us that he's about to leave in a few days for what looks like a month to do a boat delivery. Further, he advised us not to take out the boat sailing until he can go over all of the upgrades with us (which includes new sails and instruments).
I agree that he should be taking us out on our first sail of the season, particularly given the upgrades. There's also still some maintenance work to be done on the heads!
In effect, he's leaving us stranded without use of our boat for the first month of a pretty short sailing season where we live!
What's your advice and thoughts on this? Is this considered professional behavior? How should we proceed?
In case it's not obvious, we'd like to use our boat this month - when he plan to be away. We did not specifically tell him our desired sailing schedule this month.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
SHORT VERSION: professional Captain (not full-time on this boat) who maintains couple's sailboat and also provides instruction informs at last minute that he's unavailable for the first month of sailing season because he'll be doing a boat delivery. The boat has undergone significant upgrades during the off-season, including sails and instruments. The Captain has been paid to do and / or oversee all maintenance and upgrades work. The Captain has signed off with the insurance company that the couple is capable of running and sailing their boat without assistance.