17.14N 150.22S

JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Sat 24 May 2008 12:15
We are on the move this time back to Raietea to collect some parts which we were having made while we returned to Papeete,they are about half the price in Raietea.
 
The return voyage to Papeete was against the prevailing wind and the sea was quite unpleasant in fact we were all sea sick and very uncomfortable.The only reason for back tracking was to collect some parts for the generator and have it fixed.I have to say the only efficient part of the whole operation was the parts sent by my office from the UK,everything else was a shambles.
 
Jeanneau have consistently failed to achieve any success in having the generator repaired or even organising the agents to effect the repairs,I am so disgusted with the inept way in which they have dealt with this that it will feature quite highly in an article that I am due to write for one of the yachting magazines.
 
After our night crossing from Raietea to Papeete some 20 hrs we arrived in Marina Taina to be greeted by the generator agents who wanted to remove it to their workshop but they had not arranged a crane to lift it from the boat nor the men to do it having been aware of this for at least a week.
So I organised a man or three and my favourite engineer Michel organised the crane ,which duly arrived within the hour and after another hour broke down.
 
So there we where on the quayside with a broken down crane the driver having walked off in a huff and the generator still in the boat with the agent coming to collect it in 2 hrs and us wanting to be underway in 2 days with it repaired with the parts from the UK.
 
Michel decided that we could rig up a block and tackle system to remove it ,4 men lots of rope a few near misses and a bilge covered in oil and 1hr later it was out.Now this unit weighs 400lbs and has to be lifted out at an angle of 40 deg and the swung over the side of the boat onto the shore forward of where we lifted it out,
 
Well I take my hat off to Peter Whatley who put it in because I now have some idea of the effort that went into it.When the van came to take it to the workshop it took 4 men to lift it in the back,not might add.
 
We still had our doubts that it would work without more spares which they did not have and how right we were after 2 days it still didn't work and they were the experts.The irony of the situation was that had Jeanneau listened to us and got their act together we could have had a new generator delivered and installed whilst we were at the Marina after all we arrived there the first time 4 weeks ago.Instead they had procedures and they knew of the problem 4 months ago.
 
Now they are organising something for Australia there's after sales service for you 10,000 nm and 6 months late and they think its difficult to organise a brewery comes to mind.
 
We are currently motoring as there is no wind and we need to arrive in Raitea tomorrow to collect our parts and then onto Bora for one night and then to Raratonga to get my flight.I'm afraid all the wasted time with Jeanneau has reduced our time spent exploring the Society Islands considerably and we would have liked to stay longer but we now need to catch up with the fleet.So as we move on you will receive more bloggs you lucky things.