My son just on a party boat trip on Thames - cancelled early - fight damage.

Helping organise, that is.

Organised the punch up !

No, he was not involved in fight.

Cost near £4,500 with DJ and damage deposit (£1000)

Sounds like he needs to be disowned.

Start near 7.30pm - update

He had nothing to do with trouble, Joel.

Lump of coal this year

Bet it was someone who works for the Boat company that started the fight, 5K for under 2 hours. Take the boat down river for another party later.

Had a thought : threaten to get all the kids to go on twitter, reviews, facebook and rubbish the company

Is there a contract somewhere?

I presume there was no alcohol onboard ?

Must be clause stating no fighting and no damage or trip immediately cancelled.

Bad things happen at sea, they can`t afford to take chances regarding insurance purposes. Once aware of any trouble, perhaps they are in breach of any insurance.

Rubbish the company for stopping somebody possibly getting seriously injured or worse?!!!

A boat is not the place for a ruck so if your boys pals caused a fight then tough, the contract will have the caveat about discretion to end it early in such circumstances.

Going on twitter etc, you 1diot. IF it was my company I would stop it!

A kid cracked his head on the toilet, 16 and 17 he got to close whilst throwing up after 4 Stella's. They should have carried on for the 4 hours and took the 1K for damage cost. 1 window how much really, if it gets out of hand you call the Law.
Something is not right here.

No alcohol served but kids were probably pre-loading

Can't find t&c s

It sounds like it's been aborted on health and safety grounds and quite rightly so. It doesn't take much to turn a scuffle into a disaster on water, especially at night. Captain of the boat would have no choice whatsoever.
The kids may be disgruntled now, but they are all safe. Some may have gained a little wisdom from this. Some won't have.

I was on a boat disco many years ago from Tower gateway (thames), from 9-1am, it was so cold on the boat, that some maniac  made a small bonfire on the dance floor,this was extinguished after a few minutes , but we continued on our merry way

probably Pyromaniac Dambuster

bad idea to let kids do anything interesting.

I'd have got them on Woolwich Ferry for a tenner each.

The Leopard 21 Dec 14 01:22 Joined: 05 Apr 06 | Topic/replies: 22,645 | Blogger: The Leopard's blog
No alcohol served but kids were probably pre-loading

Can't find t&c s

Hundreds of kids, plenty of them drinking and not being able to cope,smashed window, fights breaking out on a boat.

Yep, I reckon you trash the company on social media - they sound like the problem....

Kids go through this as they grow up - not judging at all, we've all been there - lesson learnt, money gone, move on.

340 teenagers aged between 16 and 17 and you don't expect any trouble?

did you have any security/bouncers ?

They must have security, could have dropped trouble-makers off at nearest pier and carried on.

You don't close down a night club because something gets broken.

You do close a nightclub down if its full of underage kids worse for wear.

Sure if one of the kids had fallen in p***ed up and drowned you would have come on praising the company for their live and let live attitude.

Maybe they shouldn't be booking parties for kids under 21 then.

I agree - it is their responsibility to ensure the kids don't turn up p***ed up....

Sue them, go for it. In todays climate of H&S paranoia I reckon you are onto a winner.

It's not really a matter of age. ANY kind of trouble, horseplay or tomfoolery is very dangerous on water. Especially if it involves drink or drugs. It is dangerous enough when everybody is well-behaved.

Have to see how much they want to keep of the £1000 damage deposit, dependant on what size window was broken, probably not worth the hassle to try to get any kind of refund on main fee. They may get a few bad social media reviews though.

The contract must be with someone over 18 surely?

The Leopard,

Was the trip with City Cruises?

If it was I maybe able to help you.

340 kids on a boat

what can go wrong

i would had thought 20 would had been the max of that age in a group

No, not City Cruises

Just had a report from son....slept round friends.... woke up at 12.30pm

Window was 1m x 1.5m. ( how much will they charge?)

Son thinks it was possible someone could have fallen in the water.

Many kids tipsey.

Maybe best to end it early.

suprised they still do these wasn't there a terrible tragedy some years ago?

I doubt you have a leg to stand on with the company, legally.

I would write them a letter apologising, and say that next time you will make sure they are better prepared. (e.g. hint they may get future trade).

Then in a subsequent communication. Ask them if they would consider deferring the damage costs against savings made ending the trip early. Problem is there won't really have been many savings - pilot, and other stuff will still have been paid the full amount, there would have been no opportunity to rehire it out, I guess you're just talking about fuel really.

It might even have cost more to end the cruise early if the boat had to pay for an unbooked slot at the pier.

Have to see how much they want to keep from the deposit.

A boat on a river and a load of pished up teenagers was never going to end well ,the trip being shortened would be the least of my worries ,I would be delighted to hear they were all back on dry land ,surely if they knew all these kids were underage there should have been an alcohol ban implemented ,or perhaps they didn't realise till all on board ,and then decided to do the right thing .I would be thanking them ,not looking for a refund ...

Id check the terms and conditions to see  whether getting pissed and smashing the windows was acceptable or not.

Pmsl Dot Do you not think this could have ended in tragedy Leopard ?If it never crossed your mind ? you must lead a fairly blinkered life ,the last place my kids would have been aged 16/17 would have been on a pish up on a boat ,and I can
assure I was far from being a strict parent ...

No alcohol was available for sale on boat.

My son was being sensible ....only had 1/2 bottle of wine on tube to start point....he was sober after 20 mins...he says

well I,m thinking back to when I was 16/17 tbh perhaps not a fair comparison ,be about 10 on I would have ended up in the river

In the 7-45 The Leopard will be wearing blinkers for the first time.

sounds like mutiny on the bounty was narrowly averted ,take it out his next expenses allowance ......only joking The leopard

on a serious note sounds like an episode of the inbetweeners ,and yea you have prob been well robbed landan style

From experience:

This should be the first thing you looke for: It depends who was responsible for security.  One scuffle does not constitute closure of an event.

The boat rental would have been aware of 340 kids and should have had adequate security OR informed promoter (your son) that he needed to have X number of security per person.

If your son was responsible, the captain could have looked at it as a risky situation and shut it down.

If the boat was responsible for security, find out how many were on board and if they just "took the money" and had two security for 340 minors, they are at fault for having inadequate security.

But, again, one scuffle should not mean closure.  it happens at weddings.

Maritime law comes into force, the Captain has the last word....

True, but then if the Captain left port with inadequate security, then someone is responsible for the event closing early.

So, ultimately, the Captain is responsible if he set sail knowing there was inadequate security, regardless if your son was responsible.

Leopard funds drug fuelled frenzy SHOCKER

On a serious note I watched a documentary not long ago where a full boat of kids died on a night just like this (think a few have) was it on the Thames ?

The Marchioness disaster on the Thames was 25 years ago, @Mc Moonbeam.

Lawrence Dallaglio lost his sister on it if memory serves

Hands severed for ID-ing....terrible !
.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/01/taniabranigan

Mc M ....I and my son put no funds into it....he was hassled for 2 weeks by it though.

The Leopard, let your son know it happens to the best of "promoters/organizers".  In some ways, a great lesson about responsibility. 

That said, you do have a case since "party boats" cannot close down an event because less than 2% of the people caused problems.

Obviously it comes down to the decision of time and money to pursue it but if the Captain pulled away with no security, then they need to write you a cheque otherwise, simply tell them you will be in touch with the authorities about getting their license reviewed ("You let a ship sale with 340 minors, X number of decks and two security guards???").

They won't want the scrutiny.

There will be a basic formula similar to night clubs with "per person". 

Bear in mind, they will say "they had enough". When they hit you with the number, tell them witnesses said less and unless they settle, you will pursue this further.

As well, repeating, if they say your son was responsible for security and the Captain pulled away with less than the requirements, the Captain is responsible.

I dont think anyone with a brain would be a "witness" just to reclaim a grand. You could get in far more trouble than its worth if they produced evidence to back their claims.

Thanks, SHAPE, could be useful.

I have nothing to add to this thread. I'm not sticking my oar in.

Ramruma    21 Dec 14 21:34 
The Marchioness disaster on the Thames was 25 years ago, @Mc Moonbeam.



25 years,wow time flys by