Day 154 (120 miles and $240 for nothing)

Today was an exercise in frustration as well as a lesson in just how generous and giving people can be.

If you noticed the headline on the home page of this web site lately you will know that as of last Thursday morning my SPOT locator beacon has not been working. I discovered this fact when I tried to turn it on at the boat ramp Thursday and the on/off indicator light wouldn’t come on. It was already a late morning start and with over thirty miles to paddle before I could reach a campable spot I called the administrative wing of my support crew (A.K.A. my sister-in-law) Amy to see if she could contact SPOT to see what could be done.

A check in call at the end of the day revealed that Amy had essentially been unable to get anywhere because, without the device with her, she couldn’t answer the tech advisor’s questions. At least she was able to get me SPOT’s tech support number which I finally had a chance to call yesterday afternoon after I arrived at Lamar’s place. The call amounted to a somewhat frustrating time on the phone where by my English language skills were stretched to the limit while trying to explain my situation. The conversation went something like this;

- me - “Hi I’m having trouble with my SPOT, I can’t seem to get it to turn on. I push the on button and no lights come on.”
- them - “Did you do a re-boot?”
- me - “No, how do you do that?”
- them - “You need to start by turning the device off, then turn it back on.”
- me - “R..r.r.right, so how do I know when it’s turned off?”
- them - “When the green light goes off.”
- me - “R..r.r.right, I told you that no lights are coming on.”
- them - “Then you need to turn the device on.”
- me - (after banging head on wall) “That’s the problem…it won’t turn on.”
- them - “You need to do a re-boot.”
Excreta, excreta, excreta…

Long story short, what did come out of the conversation was that the device was “probably defective” but still covered under warrantee and that it would have to be shipped back to the manufacturer in order to be repaired or replaced. This process, because I registered the device using my parent’s address, would go as follows. The SPOT people would send a return package to my parent’s house back in Wisconsin. I’d then have to ship the SPOT there so my mom could put the device in their return box and ship it back to the factory. Four to eight weeks later the factory would then send a functioning device back to my parents who would then send it to whatever address I could find ahead of wherever I was by then. Essentially it could take up to two and a half months to get it all sorted out. Hence the start of today’s frustrations.

I would never put myself in a situation where I had to rely on an electronic device as an integral part of my safety equipment. Batteries wear out, things get wet, and sometimes they simply don’t work. I’d rather put my faith in good judgment, skill, and the correct gear like exposure clothing and a PFD to keep me safe. To me, electronics (including my cell phone, VHF radio, and the SPOT device) are there to be used as backup safety when I’ve screwed up bad someplace else. I never put myself in any sort of harms way with the belief that a piece of battery powered electronics is allowing me to be there. My trouble with the SPOT is case in point.

Yet I consider the SPOT to be a very important part of my equipment. Why? Because sharing this trip with others is very important to me, and the “OK” button and messages that the SPOT can send allow that to happen even when I can’t connect with anyone any other way. It’s my way to say “Hey check this spot out, isn’t it amazing.” Or “Don’t worry mom, I’m off the water and am doing fine.” With the device not functioning over the last two days on the water I was able to use my GPS and a cell phone to first let my loved ones know I was off the water at the end of the day, and secondly to call in my location so Neil “my statistician” could update my location on the website. This system isn’t as convenient as simply pushing a button on the SPOT, but it works. The problem (and reason I’m in such a hurry to get a new device) is that I am a day away from entering what will be a very remote section of coast where cell service will be hit and miss at best. No cell service means I will essentially fall off the radar for a few days. It doesn’t bother me in the least to paddle “un-covered” but it does bother me that I wouldn’t be able to share the adventure. Unfortunately, from here it will be at least eight days before I could get to another store that might carry a replacement SPOT, so I want to get it taken care of while I can.

Enter Lamar and unbelievable generosity.

After I decided that I’d be staying around an extra day to talk to Lamar’s friend about what to expect along the Outer Banks it also gave me an extra day to track down a new SPOT. West Marine is the only store in the area that carries the device so Lamar and his wife Lisa graciously offered up their Jeep so I could drive to the store in the morning. So, bright and early I made the thirty mile drive to Morehead City to pick up a new SPOT only to discover that they didn’t have any in stock. The salesman there was extremely helpful and managed to track down another device in a different location sixty miles away in another direction. By this time Lamar’s friend Thom had arrived at the kayak store so I zipped back over there to re-group and go over the maps of the area with him.

You can't beat local knowledge - Thomas the shrimper

While Thom and I talked Lamar made a few calls of his own and tracked down a SPOT device at a different West Marine thankfully only forty miles away. So after a couple hours of pouring over the maps with Thom, exploring the different routes that can be taken through and around the Outer Banks, I climbed back into Lisa’s Jeep and made the drive to New Burn North Carolina. There, in the birthplace of Pepsi Cola, I found the West Marine bought a new SPOT locator and headed directly back to Cedar Point to get the Jeep back before Lamar and Lisa had to get to a wedding.

At the kayak store I borrowed a desk and jumped on the internet to activate the new SPOT. It was then that I learned that in order to swap my already existing service to the new device I’d need the serial numbers off the old one. This would normally be no big deal, however, I had just mailed the old one out to my parents three hours earlier before the post office closed and I missed my chance to send it. I called SPOT’s tech support number to discover that they’re not open on the weekends and wouldn’t be open again until 8:00 AM Monday morning. I had every intention to be back on the water by Sunday morning so I found myself in a bit of a pinch. What I decided to do was activate the new device under a new service plan (paying another $100) and sort out a way to swap and rebate my money later on. Certainly the SPOT people will be able to help me there…right?

Moments later when I put the batteries in the brand new (straight out of the box) SPOT my new service plan and such was a mute point because
IT DOESN’T WORK EITHER!

I could have screamed…
 or cried.

It's amazing how something so small can cause so much trouble.

By now it was 5:00 in the evening and I had already spent three hours driving 120 miles to two different stores and spent over $250 on devices and service plans and $20 on gas only to end up exactly where I started. With a SPOT device that won’t turn on. I quickly called the West Marine in NewBurn and asked them to please hold the other SPOT they have so I could exchange the defective one I have. Of course, because I “activated” it they won’t be able to take it back because it now can’t be re-sold. Of course for some the fact that IT DOESN’T WORK might be reason enough to not re-sell it.

Without wheels to make a second eighty mile round trip drive to pick up a third SPOT device (which I asked the guys at West Marine to put batteries in to test by the way) I was stuck for the rest of the night. I did call Lamar and leave a message on his cell phone to let him know what was up. Moments later (after the wedding ceremony) he called me back and offered up the Jeep again so I could drive out to get the new SPOT. By then I’d already decided that it was a sign that perhaps I should stay a second day to get myself sorted out before I continue on. As it was with all the time I burned running around all day I didn’t have much of the blogging and map work done that I’d hoped to on a full day off.

With a second full day off ahead of me and my head swimming with the frustrations of the day I decided that I needed time away from it all so I made my way to a local theater and escaped reality for a couple hours while I watched the new “Iron Man II” movie.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I will once again borrow Lamar’s Jeep to drive out to pick up a third device for another $140 and hope to get it activated so I can finally get back on the water very early Monday morning. I wish I could talk to a customer service person from SPOT before I get back on the water but I have to take advantage of  a break in the weather and keep moving. I may have cell coverage Monday night so I’m sure then I will be able to talk to someone at SPOT to get this all sorted out.