Getting UPS-ed

Well, it wasn’t the missing 3rd package that ruined my day. It was worse.

After I walked about 1.5km with the pole on my shoulder to my private dinghy beach, had to have the dinghy drained (the pounding waves had fill the boat up). Once on board I start unpacking the poles, and much to my surprise: they were bent. We are talking about a 4cm diameter, 3.5mm wall aluminum pipe, bent. That sure did not happen when someone bumped into the box, that takes brute force to happen.

So I call the company I bought this from (Wholesale Solar) and explain it to them. Obviously I should not have signed for it, but the package was not obviously dent (once you know it is, then you notice where it had happened). So the rest of the day I have been dealing with talking to the customer service (the lady is very nice, that is not the problem) and UPS. And they are telling me to do this, one tells me to do that, than, just when I get of the phone with UPS (that is after I had been back to the boat, moved the boat because with the west wind I started to get too close to the docks for comfort, dinghied back to the anchorage office again) the UPS driver is there again (to drop of my third box). I tell him about the damage, he tells me to get a damaged call tag from the shipper before he can take it back. Then I called Wholesale Solar with that story, and they are now getting with their supplier (the shipment came from Santa Fe, NM) and will see about what has to happen.

Now, I do understand that a new pole set will be shipped without charge to me, so that is not that bad, but now I have to hang out here for another week, waiting for that package. With the best of luck, it could make it before the weekend, but I doubt it (last time it shipped Tuesday night, and it arrived the next Monday).

Sounds like I will be in Stuart, FL for maybe another week. I have been living using just the electricity the 10W solar panel provides me with (that basically means, almost no use of lights, use the foot pumps for water pressure, and even minimize the charging of the mobile phone). And a good days charge can be lost by just forgetting to turn of the LPG solenoid. But, it is good to learn more about how I can minimize my use of electricity. Also attempting to tune down the speed with which the waste tank fills up (which means, minimal use of water when you flush).

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2 Responses to Getting UPS-ed

  1. Don says:

    Frank surely there must be dock in the area that you can pull up to and
    plug in your battery charger. A three stage charger should be able to get
    your batteries to 75 percent in 4 or 5 hours. If you find a fuel dock
    that closes at night or a pump-out station you might be able to plug up
    to their shore power and charge your batteries for a while.

  2. maria says:

    Mooi verhaal weer – jaja, je hoeft je niet te vervelen met al deze logistieke activiteiten. Wel een beetje een aardige plek om te verblijven? Hier is het vriezend weer! Gister de dvd van de Volvo Ocean Race 2005/06 bekeken: leuke golven, snelle boten (walvissen!), Groet, Maria

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