The Tribune

THE family of a Canadian billionaire is suing a super yacht company for $10 million after claiming they were left “violently ill” and subject to false imprisonment by the “odorous, ill-tempered British captain” of their luxury cruise to The Bahamas.

Two lawsuits related to the matter have been filed in Florida.

The yacht, named the Dream, was chartered by billionaire hockey team owner Eugene Melnyk and his girlfriend. The lawsuits were filed on behalf of Mr Melnyk’s girlfriend, Sharilyne Anderson, and his mother, Vera. Ms Anderson and Ms Melnyk are each seeking $5m.

“After requesting a change in the route the suit claims the captain ‘appeared angry and resentful that a charterer would deem to intrude on his alleged specialised knowledge, experience, and authority,” the British Daily Mail reported.

“But Chris Fertig, an attorney for the yacht company, said the change was ‘a physical impossibility’, adding: ‘It would have been nice had the boat been able to go the inland route. But you can’t. I think he [the captain] did his best. You know, they all were safe. The boat is safe.’ The area Melnyk and his family had requested to travel through has depths of between 2.4 and 6.4 meters, data shows; the yacht has a draught of 3.6 meters.”

The family set sail on the yacht on December 22.

“The 12-passenger yacht is described online as ‘luxury’ with an ‘opulent interior and unique on-board lifestyle’ which ‘accommodates the needs of the most discerning guest.’ But Melnyk’s loved ones claim in their suits the captain – named as Captain Niel Heselton – was ‘odorous, ill-tempered, curt and dismissive’ with passengers. It also alleges he was ‘outright angry and abusive to the crew’. They say they suffered ‘panic attacks’ and ‘abuse’ as a result.

The lawsuit also states that the captain ‘was easily flustered and overwhelmed and seemed completely unfamiliar with the area, the crew or the vessel’.

After requesting the route change the suit claims the captain “sought instead to punish the charterer and his party for their insolence through intentionally piloting the yacht into the open ocean.’’

“That led to a ‘harrowing 10 to 15-hour ordeal’ in which the couple ‘became violently ill, vomiting throughout the night’, according to the suit.

“And after picking up passengers - including Melnyk’s mother, Vera, - the suit claims the problems continued with guests suffering ‘violent bouts of vomiting and illness’.

The suit adds: ‘The passengers were again subjected to hours of rough sailing, some having to crawl on all fours to be able to safely walk the decks of the ship.

“The seas were so rough that an improperly secured deck chair on the upper deck of the vessel crashed into the glass partition above the dining area, raining down shards of broken glass that narrowly missed the guests but caused severe emotional distress over the likelihood of being injured.’

According to the lawsuit, the captain allegedly insisted on sailing back to Nassau instead of letting everyone off on Exuma on the day the trip was supposed to end, sparking claims of false imprisonment. The passengers said this led to “panic attacks, trauma, fear of death by drowning and fear of boarding vessels of any kind.”