Whinging Pom

I think the universe has to have balance for it to exist and I would like to say that up until now this site is simply not balanced - its content has been very one sided with us telling all the wonderful tales of our adventures:- stunning scenery, wonderful friends, sunshine, margaritas at sunset, gentle winds blowing us to distant shores, well I say its simply not balanced so I have decided to rectify the inequality and invoke my right as a Pom (Australian term for an Englishman) to whinge and whinge about everything. I also call on you to whinge with me, add a comment - yes vent your pent up frustrations NOW! so here we go... (NB There may be profanities)

Whinge No 5: The UK mobile network

For a small and densely populated country the UK has by far the worst mobile phone network I have encountered, the coverage is simply appalling. Even on the main arterial rail network dropped calls and black spots happen regularly. We have been in seriously remote areas of Canada and Alaska, US with better 4G reception. Why is this??









Whinge No 4: Garmin charts

I have been very disappointed by the Garmin charts of Mexico, not only are they totally inaccurate in terms of correct position but they lack any level of detail even in major bays, anchorages and ports. Garmin charge around $300 for the Mexico charts and I must say that they are not only useless but downright dangerous. They should not be used. Luckily we have an ipad with a number of charting applications installed and by far the best application we have used, particularly in Mexico is Transas Marine’s Isailor which costs about $50. The positioning has always been very accurate and the level of detail is second to none and even as good as the guide books.

Here are some examples of how bad the Garmin charts are in comparison to Isailor . 

 

Garmin chart of Isla San Francisco

Isailor version of Isla San Francisco

Overland with Garmin

Whinge No 3:   TelCel

As much as I love the great coverage the Mexican mobile carrier TelCel offers, their billing system is pretty poor. It is a regular discussion on some of the cruiser nets. 5 times now I have paid about $30 to top up my account only for the funds to vanish into the ether after as little as one day. There is a trick to topping up your account and that is not to do it at just any store like Kiosk (similar to 7 Eleven) but preferably in a Tel Cel store. If performed in a Kiosk store it will pretty much as guaranteed vanish without trace. If you try and contact TelCel they will tell you that you have used all the data even if the account was topped up withing 24 hrs and 3GB has vanished just like that. 

Whinge No 2:    Frigate birds    

The first time you see a frigate bird, you are astounded: massive wingspan, gently gliding with no effort, the males puffing their large red throat sacks out. and then they sit on your mast head and SHIT and unfeasibly large volume of putrid fish smelling shit all over you boat. Not only that they damage and even remove instruments at the top of the mast which are a pain to replace. oh FRIGATE birds!   
 

Whinge No 1: Marine toilets

Do you really want to see this?

Why is it that marine toilets, or heads as they are know to us boaties, give us some much trouble. They block with regular monotony and they stink. They cause embarrassment when visitors come, not just the smell but having to explain how to use one and God forbid if it gets blocked, well effing hell it's the worst job ever especially if its somebody else's faecal matter.