Logistics, logistics....
Shortly after leaving Agadir our shaft
alternator started to show signs of fatigue and than stopped working
completely. So instead of heading south we changed our course 90
degrees west and before long arrived to Gran Tarajal, a small, sleepy
village with crystal clear water on Fuerteventura island. This island
has a desert-like appearance and what you don't water doesn't
grow. There must have been at least twenty very well done colourful
graffitis on various walls around the town, with some artists still
at work. What a talent! We were lucky the recommended mechanic was
able to get all the parts needed and the following week this 20 years
old alternator was rebuild with new bearings, new diodes pack and a
new regulator. Few days later with the perfect wind to bring us to
Cape Verde we got under way again and what a surprise!...this thing
still didn't output any current...we weren't too happy about that!
This is an important piece of equipment for us, as it supplies the
electricity needed to operate the automatic pilot, fridge, lights,
etc. We weren't ready to turn back and so, another course change of
90 degrees west brought us this time to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria
island, a big city, where after taking the alternator apart, this
time, an honest mechanic doesn't recommend us to try to rebuild it – the bearing housing is in a very bad shape and there is a
short wire in the coil. So without any fanfare this alternator is
declared dead and we order a new unit from Amel yard. The package is
sent from France (European Union) to ship to Gran Canaria Island of
Spain (which is also part of European Union), sounds like this is
going to get here without any glitch! What a mistake in our thinking!
The parcel is picked-up by the 21st of December and by the 23rd is in
Madrid. And that is where it stays, although this is send by the
International Priority Delivery, which is supposed to be 24-hr
delivery within Europe. Today we are the 2nd of January and the
parcel is still in Madrid! apparently needing to go through some
custom clearance...wait a minute...aren't we still in EU territory?
isn't this supposed to be 24-hr delivery? - well, looks like the
Canary Islands have a special status and custom clearance is needed.
By now it has been sitting there for the past 8 working days and we
had already spent several hours on the phone, e-mail and yet don't
know what it takes to get it here. Unless you experience EU working
methods, you don't realize, how efficient we are in North America.
Since June we have been dealing with lots of businesses here and now
understand, why there is a big trouble in this part of the
world...But as the saying goes, everything bad is good for something,
and so this frustrating experience provided us with an opportunity to
see some of the Canary Islands. It's beautiful here, the weather is
perfect as well, the shops are full of excellent, inexpensive cheese,
good wine – so what the heck are we complaining about? Happy New Year
to all of you!