Ill considered and ignorant comments

We are continually amazed at the purely ignorant comments that this unfortunate business has engendered.
The facts are very simple and speak for themselves.
We were directed to anchor in what turned out to be the wrong place. There was a convoy of dinghies deployed waiting for us at the correct spot but we didn't see them. There was a misunderstanding and when asked, the person who had ostensibly come aboard to assist us with sail handling told us to drop the anchor "now"! So we did. Maybe we should have checked the depth but instead relied on what we assumed would be local knowledge gained from having been there for a while.
The conditions when we anchored were difficult to say the least. There was a 25+ knot wind blowing, a 1 metre sea running and a 35 metre depth of water and we had no engine. In spite of all that our anchor held and WE DID NOT DRAG AT ANY STAGE!!
We are being villified right left and centre when we were not at fault in any way and in fact we are the victim because another boat "Kealba" dragged down onto us. In spite of some claims to the contrary, they told us they were not insured.
All we want is recompense for the damage sustained. We acknowledge that the owner of "Kealba" did some work on our engine and we are prepared to take that into consideration but until we know the cost of our repairs we cannot come to any finality.
We haven't had it assessed because we haven't been anywhere until now where it has been possible to do this. We have contacted a marine assessor here in Johor but he cannot see the boat until mid December and we will be back in New Zealand by then. So, the earliest date for assessment will be mid February 2014. That's just the way it is and not through any delays caused by us.
Finally we must comment that we have frequently heard incorrect comments made and when we try to correct this the answer is invariably "I don't want to talk about that!!" How you can have a reasoned discussion when faced with that attitude is beyond us.
At this stage the damage is that the pulpit is bent out of true and will probably have to be removed from the boat to be straightened. Not a small job. Then there are 2 bent stanchions and rails and possibly the starboard solar panel has been damaged. We say that because there is a strange reading coming up on the display.
Quite simply we just want an acknowledgement of how the damage occurred and confirmation that they will pay our reasonable costs of repairs. Easy so you would think..........

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