If you truly value your life, your health, your sanity, or your $$$ - you may want to think about considering ANOTHER Skipper to sail with.
The reason that you cannot find any information on this skipper is because he does NOT have an appealing documented track-record for maritime activity. Do you feel it is prudent to sail in open-ocean (or even on inland waterways) with a skipper who does NOT have a credible documented track-record? (unwilling to produce a ship's log at court proceedings)
However, there IS verifiable witnessed evidence of him running aground in at least FOUR (4) instances between December 2008 and August 2009.
James (Jim) John Rohrssen is acting Owner / Skipper of the 34' sailing vessel known as SV La Picaresca (AKA: SV Rhiannon).
James (Jim) John Rohrssen has NOT produced a US Coast Guard license or certification.
SV La Picaresca (Rhiannon) is NOT a USCG Documented Vessel.
SV La Picaresca is NOT displaying a USCG Auxillary Inspection sticker (and may not have undergone a safety inspection).
SV La Picaresca in an Uninspected Passenger Vessel (UPV)... HOWEVER, because of the way James (Jim) John Rohrssen has chosen to "strategically" word the enticements upon his site (yes, he has done his homework to avoid being regulated), you may not have the benefit of being on-board with someone who has gained the proper licensing and certification to give YOU the peace-of-mind that there is a competent skipper at the helm. And because he is not subject to USCG inspections, your life and safety may be at-risk from the moment you step onboard his vessel.
The following links are what you COULD benefit from if James (Jim) John Rohrssen were to be operating under these regulations. Since he isn't, you might safely assume that he does NOT adhere to these safety standards unless he specifically proves to you otherwise.
http://www.cglicense.com/OUPVVesselEquipmentChecklist.pdf
http://www.northstarflotilla.com/Files/ve/USCG-Vessel-Requirements-6Pack.pdf
The following links (also available elsewhere on this site) are to show you the level of competence you are dealing with if you choose to risk your life and your $$$ with this skipper:
http://www.qciobserver.com/Article.aspx?Id=4060&Archive=1
http://beachynews.blogspot.com/2009/09/craig-beachy-rescues-world-traveler-jim.html
(NOTE: this grounding occurred less than 8 weeks after he refloated the vessel - after having been in dry-dock for 6 months, following severe damage to the hull when tossed upon the rocks in Fishermans Bay, Lopez Island, WA - dislodged from anchor in a protected harbor)
"A fool and his money are quickly parted" - don't be a fool like I was... and not do thorough due diligence on his reputation. Read his documents CAREFULLY and observe that all has been written to support his will... and virtually leaves you at his mercy and whim.
If you've already given ANY money to Jim... its may already be too late... and now you'll have to hope for the best... as James DOES NOT GIVE REFUNDS.
Why? Because he is INSOLVENT (self admitted on 12/22/09 and again on 07/20/10)! Your money (whether it be an advance deposit or a final payment... will go directly toward his PERSONAL expenses (not necessarily your day-to-day expenses)... and there are NO reserves to guarantee that your leg of the journey (whether now or off into the future) that you have "reserved"... will ever happen.
My judgment against him (San Juan County court #: SC09-40) means that his cash flow above and beyond his personal verifiable expenses is due to flow to me. At the time of this posting, that outstanding balance is in excess of $5000.00 USD (he has not made a payment since the judgment on 12/22/2009).
In addition, James (Jim) John Rohrssen has an outstanding debt of nearly $1000 with Sunset Builders Supply on Lopez Island (and has not made any payments for 12 months as of this writing).
In addition, the folks at both Islands Marine Center and Sea Marine (the two dry-dock services he has used within the last year) prefer not to do business with him again because of the "difficulties" they had with him.
Even after depositing over $1600 with him (for 3 months of voyaging) at the end of May last year... he still did not have enough money to settle his bill with Islands Marine Center just so he could get his boat out of dry-dock (he could not make it happen sooner because he did not have enough money to do so). At the last minute he still had to scramble for more money... probably a payment from another just-arrived victim (CM).
If you've read this far and haven't yet turned away from the spiel of James (Jim) John Rohrssen, then you may want to consider the following FACTS from the Washington Department of Licensing:
Registration #: WN-8487NX
Hull Identification #: WNZ1249FA282
Model year: 1982
Boat Length: 34'
Purchase cost: $2700
Purchase year: 2008
Total Registration fees paid: $33.25
(inquiring minds want to know... did he defraud the State of Washington by claiming a low purchase cost... or is the boat really worth only $2700?)
So, are you willing to risk your hide on a $2700 sailboat on the open ocean in off-shore waters or a South Pacific crossing... when the Skipper has demonstrated his ability to ground his boat at least 4 times (and severely damage it) in a recent 8-month period?
James Jim (John) Rohrssen operates La Picaresca Sailing Adventure as the basis for attempting to fulfill the extravagant promises and dreams he projects at http://sailingadventure.webs.com/
Full legal name of defendant: James John Rohrssen - Born: July 1957 (53 years old)
Different email addresses in his deception: freebird2020@gmail.com and papajim2000@yahoo.com
As of July 20, 2010 - as stated under oath - he only had $67.00 in cash and $28.00 in his PayPal account - totalling $95.00 to his name.
Honestly, we believe he perjured himself.
In way of references, the folks below had less-than-stellar things to say about their experience with James (Jim) John Rohrssen.
Sunset Builder Supply -
Sea Marine - 419 Jackson St. Townsend , WA 98368
Lopez Islander Resort - Fisherman Bay Road P.O. Box 459 , Lopez Island , WA 98261
Hopefully this information will help other innocent people from becoming victims of James Jim Rohrssen and his Ponzi Scheme.
Incidentally, any monies or bikes donated to http://bikesforhaiti.webs.com/ may not get to their proposed destination - it seems that there is not a partnering organization nor a 501-C(3) organization – as referred to on the website… and at least a substantial portion of the information as given to a reporter for BicyclePaper.com at: http://www.bicyclepaper.com/articles/2010/6/bikes_for_haiti_to_empower_a_population (as per sworn testimony of James Jim Rohrssen on 7/20/10) is false.
My thoughts... steer clear... and look elsewhere... it will be a lot less stressful.
thank you for this website!myself and 3 other crew members were with him for his july-august six week trip. we made it through 3.5 weeks when the police had to be called in nanaimo, BC to escort us off the boat. jim is a deeply unpleasant man, a fantasist and a completley inadequate leader and sailor who under no circumstances should have members of the public onboard his vessel.it doesn't take long to realise on meeting jim, what kind of person he is... a pathological liar who jsut makes people uncomfortable. within 10 mins of meeting jim in port townsend, washington, i knew i had made a mistake and tryed to reduce the 6 weeks to 4 but even that was 4 weeks too many(and of course no refund). i can also verify taht he was asked to leave the marina in PT to go to another one where they hadn't got wind of his reputation yet. also no life raft onboard!i could go on and on. do not get on this boat. hell isn't a strong enough word for the experience. we saw beautiful sites in BC but each was marred by jim's presence onboard. i'm so glad to see this site in existence. i hope nobody has to go through what we did for 3.5 weeks. i wouldn't wish it onmy worst enemy. - Stephen Norton, IRELAND
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I have also sailed with Jim (and lost money). After spending a short-time with Jim, you can tell that he does use your funds mostly for his personal expenses, as the original post stated. Jim was embarrassingly tight with money. We never docked at a marina and frequently took advantage of people's generosity -a clear indicator that Jim was taking advantage of us. Once Jim even had us sneak into a marina and suggested that one of the crew climb around the barbwire fence. The problems continued each day and continued to get worse until the trip came to an abrupt end when the police became involved.
ReplyDeleteJim is not a reputable man. If you are thinking of sailing with him, think again. I had read one account of his running aground before my trip, but I thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. I was foolish. I hope that having multiple accounts of Jim's misadventures on this site will convince you now to sail with Jim.
Thank you for putting this website together. People should have a chance to read some of the previous experiences of Jim's crew before signing up and signing their money away. If there's anything else I can do... please let me know.