Fuel Cost Poll

[Lighthouse]

Will the increase in the cost of fuel affect your Cruising plans in your ability to make long range passages ?

[Santana]

Why should something like the cost of diesel fuel upset cruising plans. I'm more worried about the cost of fuel stabilizer. It takes about 2 year to go thru 75 gallons of fuel. Such a minor expense for SAILBOAT..

[Trim50]

Simply glad to have a sailing vessel and not a power boat.

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by Santana

Why should something like the cost of diesel fuel upset cruising plans.

Depends where the cruising takes place, often going from A to B will mean that the sailors' term "follow your nose" will apply - the wind will be on the nose = sods' law of the sea.

Switch on the iron donkey.

[MMNETSEA]

The Cost of fuel is causing great hardship on Fishermen throughout the world.

[Nausikaa]

Hmmm, well yes it is but it causes hardships for many more. Heating bills increase, the costs of goods and services increase, the cost for transport companies increase. It is not just fishermen.

The great problem for many fishermen, at least in Europe, is that they cannot pay their fuel bills with "black" money. The invoices have to go through the correct channels and suddenly they need to declare greater catches in order to cover these bills. Now that's a thing. How will they explain increased catches when just about all stocks are seriously depleted or worse?

In this context we must remind ourselves, for example, that only 1 year ago the Europeran Commission found that almost 50% of Poland's catches were undeclared.

Aye // Stephen

[Nausikaa]

See also the BBC's coverage

[MMNETSEA]

Stephen,

Obviously, you have a better appreciation of the present Fishing Industries woes in Europe.

As an mere onlooker, an outsider, I have always held a view that Governments in Europe are to blame, of doing too little, too late over many decades, where science was sending out alerts in the early 60s on the damage being done to fish stocks by over-fishing, by not limiting the number of boats, by not banning the mining of wasting assets. By not taking appropriate action to halt the expansion of fishing fleets.

We now have a situation of too many trawlers trawling too few fish. When this fact is coupled with the overhead cost in producing a ton of fish to a port or a mothership, where fuel is now the major component of the overhead.

My Comment "The Cost of fuel is causing great hardship on Fishermen throughout the world " was also meant to cover the indigenous fisherman - with whom I am most familiar. Who is now having to face extraordinary increases in his cost of fuel.

Richard

[Nausikaa]

Richard,

You are perfectly correct in your assessment. Our politicians' horizon is no farther then the next general election and, as a result, have been unwilling to clamp down on overfishing because it would loose them votes. They have prefered to allow the next generation deal with the problem, despite scientific advice. Well, I am affraid the next generation is here now and these issues MUST be taken care of immediately or there will be no fish left.

This appplies tothe artisanal fisheries as well. We have seen trawlers, often from richer Asian and European countries, fishing illegally right uop th the beach in many developing countries, depriving the local atrisanal fishermen of their livelihood. Just as bad are the fish and prawn farms to be found, for example, in Thailand where the prawns are fed on meal made from low value reef fish; but it is these fish which have sustained the local populations and are now fattening king prawns for the luxury market. Tuna farming does exactly the same thing on an even larger scale.

The bottom, line is that there are too many boats and too little fish!

Of course, the fuel crisis hits the poorer, indigenous fisherman harder than it hits the first world fisherman who, at least in Europe, will be relatively well paid (subsidy) to scrap his ship.

I could go on for hours about this but fortunately it is a rainy Friday afternoon in Brussels and I must get home before the drizzle turns into a downpour.

Aye // Stephen

[Aquaria]

Hi!

It is so true! On our ways along the coasts even of Spain and Portugal we saw so many small fishing boats driven by big outboards (to be back first for the fish auction) landing just one or two boxes and even in the "better" past concerning the fuel costs, the income was just barely enough to cover the expences for fuel and boat mainenance. Exploding fuel costs will foce even more local fisherman to give up, what has been a second job anyway.

And what about the fisherman on other coastlines further south! No fish left because the big trawlers from where the money is took it and no longer a chance to afford to run the outboard because the fish they bring is not even enough for feeding the own family! THey might think of using their bot to leave for the Canaries?

And the poll so far shows that rising fuel costs ar just a minor concern for us, or none at all.

We sailing folks use so "little" fuel concerning the distances we cover, so that we could go on forever with rising fuel costs!

When you talk with fellow sailors about the actual fuel costs, they moan like every house and car owner.

But if you talk about thinking of buying a new engine for your boat, the same fellow sailor emphsizes the point to buy a bigger engine than the one you had to be able to beat the the wind, the current, the time and whatever else... How did we manage 20 years ago, when our engins were smaller, not so thirsty and the running hours were lower?

How far must fuel prices increase until we concider them as a major concern?

Sailing is for free

Uwe

SY Aquaria

[Robinsvoyage]

I reduced my fuel from 36 to 25 gallons.. that's about it.

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by Robinsvoyage

I reduced my fuel from 36 to 25 gallons.. that's about it.

Hard to fill up :-

Fuel

[Deafhawk]

A year ago I repowered "Shambhala" - 37' Moorman Zeeland yawl, with a new 30hp Yanmar. At 40 hours running time on the tach. I topped off the tank and could not quite get 9 gallons in it. I have a 22' motor home that gets 10 miles per gallon. At 6 knots and less than a quart of fuel per hour the boat is getting over 30 miles per gallon without the sails.

[imagine2frolic]

Deafhawk,

That has to be with current in your favor? I have twin Yanmar 27hp in a cold molded 46ft. cat, and get 3/4's of fuel burnt with no current, and averaging 7 knots at 2200rpms. That is burnt between the two motors.

Recently we did a 450 mile motor sail into 25+ knots of wind as close as possible while still sailing. We burned nearly 80 gallons of fuel. We usually leave with a storm on our quarter, and burn 2 gallons charging motors. That trip hurt a lot. My wallet was crying, and especially at $4.20 a gallon for offroad deisel.

When we refuled in Miami it was $5.50 a gallon, and $6.25 a gallon in the Exumas. Fortunatley the wind was favorable along with the current, and we resumed low usage of fuel. I think the fuel is a small part of the travelling. It won't stop me so far. It will make me a better sailor, and do less rhumbline travelling.

Fuel should be on no concern when travelling the tradewinds. Solar, and the windgenerator should supply the boat.

[MMNETSEA]

High fuel prices and worries about the economy are dragging down boat sales in Maine, particularly mid-priced powerboats. The luxury market, though, appears to be holding its own, and there is strong demand for sailboats.

It appears many boaters are also making changes to save fuel, taking fewer long cruises and traveling at slower speeds. Also, an increasing number of Maine boaters are trading their powerboats for sailboats, said Stanley Russell, a new and used sailboat dealer in Stockton Springs.

Here is the rest of the article published in yesterday's "Morning Sentinel" click here

[Auspicious]

I am much more likely to be patient when the wind drops. At this point as long as there is enough wind to keep boat speed up where the autopilot can steer I keep sailing. I'm getting some good practice anchoring in the dark. <grin>

I'm watching movies on my laptop instead of on my TV since the power consumption is so much less but I'm not sure the conservation is significant. Refrigeration is still my biggest power consumer.

Of course sometimes I reach the point of misery and fire up the generator to support air conditioning. That threshold hasn't moved yet.