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Cruising Wilsons
Against all odds
 Bob
and Carolyn Wilson, aboard Sea Island Girl, continue Lakeside’s long
running series of cruising adventures which began in the mid-1990s.
To date we’ve had the Johnston family, Jean and Bill Bayman, and
Mechelle and Bill Cooksey all contribute to the series. Bob and
Carolyn boated on Lanier until leaving for their adventure in 2002.
It has never been in my disposition to be a betting
person. For one thing, I don’t have the money to throw around like
those folks on the Wild Stake Poker TV shows, and secondly, it just
goes against my grain to toss away hard earned money.
The Admiral and I have enjoyed a somewhat frugal
lifestyle aboard Sea Island Girl, and there are always those
menacing and unexpected expenses whenever you own a boat. Although
we always plan ahead and try to keep a good inventory of those
things that we know will break, despite our efforts, some project
will always raise its ugly head – and as any boat owner will tell
you, they are seldom cheap.
This year I was blindsided by all of the shenanigans
with OPEC. When we left the Bahamas in late March, diesel fuel was
$5.50 a gallon. It was $3.62 in the States when we filled up in West
Palm the previous December. There is always a price differential
between the two locations, but we have been able to top off our 500
gallon tank in the US prior to our departure, taking advantage of
the lower U.S. prices and topping off again in the Abacos, if for no
other reason, it’s a margin of safety.
That is exactly what we did this year. We added 100
gallons in Green Turtle Cay and that got us back to Vero Beach, just
north of Ft. Pierce on the ICW. Their price was $3.62 and excitedly
I was calculating all the dollars I had saved not filling up in West
End.
As usual, our last night before reaching Brunswick
Landing Marina, is on the George River, in front of Kingsley
Plantation on Amelia Island. It was a restful night. We had enjoyed
six months out on the water, but it would soon be over and we would
be back in Atlanta with our noses to the grindstone. Although I was
enjoying the moment and recounting all we had done, the serious side
of me turned my thoughts to preparing Sea Island Girl for her summer
stay in Brunswick.
Being a particularly cautious soul it has been my
practice to top off the fuel tanks. The mechanically minded will
convince you that topping off your tanks will keep the moisture away
from the fuel and protect the internal engine components. I have
followed these “biblical truths” for 20 some-odd years and I do
believe them to be self-evident. But, diesel fuel in Fernandina was
$3.92 a gallon and I would need about 300 gallons. Let’s see $3.92 x
300 – Ouch!
Somehow, in my rush to get off their crowded dock, I
was able to convince myself that the prices have got to come down.
Why should I pay more? I can always top off my tanks when the prices
drop. Think about all the money I would save.
I now realize that that decision was a gamble. Diesel
fuel has always been less than gasoline, and prices of gasoline will
surely decline – there’s got to be plenty of it!
Here I sit, less than a year later and my friends in
the Bahamas are telling me that diesel fuel is $6.60 a gallon. The
resort where we stay had to cancel three of four annual fishing
competitions, and those guys spend upward of $50,000 a week to enjoy
themselves and catch a few fish. They are totally out of my
ballpark; and they cannot afford the fuel?
To date, our yacht club has 42 reservations for
dockage beginning in December. Last season we had 98 boats. There
will be others that come, but everyone is looking at the impact that
fuel prices are having on the economy. The Bahamas feast on tourism.
It is their only commodity. And I cannot help but feel for their
businesses and their people. Those things that impact the U.S. have
a devastating effect on others, and unless you are close to the
situation, it goes unnoticed.
Don’t look to me, I have no answers. All I see is
that fuel prices are rapidly increasing. Despite my personal
planning efforts, it will cost us more. It was a gamble not to top
off our tanks, and it seems that I should have done the “should-I,
would-I” back in Fernandina.
It seems the final vote will be cast when I crank up
Sea Island Girl when we begin our journey south in November. If the
moisture stayed on the deck, rather than in the fuel tanks, it was a
good thing. If she starts to chug along, well that’s a different
matter. No matter the vote, we will continue on our way, hoping to
learn from the past and keeping the odds as low as we can.
-Until
next time,
Skipper Bob
Visit the Wilson's
'blog site' at
www.cruisingwilson.blogspot.com.
Email the Wilsons at:
cruiswils@earthlink.net
or
wilsons@lakesidenews.com.
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