PASSEPARTOUT - Position 42:38N 70:30W

Position 42:38N 70:30W

PASSEPARTOUT

Christopher & Nirit Slaney

Fri 24 Jun 2011 02:19

Gloucester, Massachusetts.

And now, a quick roundup from the energy markets...,

Brent Light Crude has fallen to ninety dollars a barrel, President Obama has authorized the release of sixty million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve stockpile and a representative from the Libyan rebels is in Beijing for talks. All this is extremely interesting but in the small, floating world that is the Passepartout we have our own energy issues. Let's begin with electricity. As a European boat we are strictly 220 volts AC and unable to hook up to American shore power. We could if I were to invest in a step-down transformer, but the issue of 50 Hz versus 60 Hz would still prevent some of our appliances, such as the fridge-freezer, vacuum cleaner and washing machine from working. Where some US marinas make 220 volts available it's actually two phases of 110v combined, and although I understand in theory how to wire up the shore-side connector, in practice I'm not overly confident of getting it right. So Nanny Cay in Tortola was the last place we enjoyed any external electrical power and have relied on our own generator ever since. So far so good, the generator is purring away for at least two hours each day which is ample to keep the batteries topped up, computers charged, beers cold and showers hot. In recent weeks we lavished love and attention on the generator, replacing the sea water pump, flushing out the engine in between oil changes and having a mechanic check over the diesel injector.

Which brings us neatly round to the subject of diesel; the gravy on our meat and potatoes and life-giving elixir. Down in the Caribbean I had a spot of trouble with the aforementioned generator. The starter motor was burned out and a mechanic on the island of Bequia sent a young man over in a launch to fit a new one. Anthony was enthusiastic about engines and told me how he had rebuilt himself a decent car from a rusted jalopy. He fitted the new starter motor and we tried to get it to work, the engine turned over just fine but wouldn't catch and we both agreed it was probably air in the fuel line. Anthony set about bleeding the fuel line but stopped, looked at what was coming out into an empty jam jar and said, " The problem isn't air Cap'n, you got something in here aint diesel! Looks like shampoo." I was taken aback and asked to see what was coming out, I held it to the light and it looked like diesel, smelled like diesel. I assured him it was fuel, he still stuck to his explanation that the reason the engine wouldn't start was because I'd filled the tank with shampoo, but we cleared the air bubble and it fired up okay.

He was still scratching his head when I cast him off and he headed to shore. A few weeks later I refueled in Rodney Bay, St Lucia and noticed the local diesel stank like fresh asphalt. When I next replaced the element in one of the fuel filters it was completely black. Only then did I understand why the mechanic in Bequia thought I had shampoo in the tank, he had not seen nor smelled European quality ultra low-sulphur diesel before. The only fuel he was familiar with is what they get down in the islands from Venezuela. It's left a layer of soot on the hull near the exhaust and the glass bowls of the Racor filters are full of dirt.

In Marblehead, Mass. last week our gauges indicated that we were down to the last dregs of Hugo Chavez's dirty fuel so I came alongside the jetty to fill up. US diesel is more like vin rose than shampoo in colour but that's just fine. At ninety cents a liter it was also the cheapest we've had since Gibraltar.

And now for a our final source of energy, gas. And once again it comes down to the trouble of being a European boat on this side of the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean we generally use the French product called Camping Gaz, which is actually butane. Over here they burn only propane. The bottles are a different size, pressurized differently and connect to completely different fittings. It's not just a question of metric threads as opposed to NPT (National Pipe Thread) inches; the European regulator valves also screw on the opposite way to what one would normally expect. In truth, we had been burning propane for a few months because in the Caribbean it's normal for traders to refill Camping Gaz bottles with propane by using a simple connector hose and gravity. I had been trying to put off making the switch to US-style cooking gas as it would involve the expense of new bottles plus regulator valve, and I would still have to find storage place for the three empty Camping Gaz containers. We were down to our last bottle of gas and what could have been our last hot drink, it was time to get serious. I dismantled the Camping Gaz regulator and headed off in search of its propane equivalent. There are some well stocked shops around Gloucester's harbour supplying the local fishing fleet with spare parts and fittings but none of them had anything I could use. From Rose Marine they directed us a business specializing in barbeque equipment and supplies. This place had a showroom stocked with the very latest in propane powered outdoor grills but nothing to help me hook an American gas bottle to the boat. I asked if they might know someone who would refill one of my butane bottles with propane. "That is totally illegal in the United Sates," I was told and I could sense the man was thinking about calling the cops. If I dismantled the connector hose from the boat, could they fit me a brand new US-style regulator to fit a propane bottle? "We can't do that, there's a liability issue. Suppose you blow your boat up." America is a wonderful country but paddle faster, I think I hear banjos.

In an effort to conserve our remaining butane I had my next coffee in Dunkin Donuts, and it was probably thanks to the coffee-pastry-sugar combo that my I.Q. suddenly shot up. To solve the gas connection problem I should call someone who likely knows What To Do! I phoned Miles Poor down in Annapolis and he had the solution at his finger tips; there's a company called Trident Rubber who make a 'pig-tail' connection which adapts Camping Gaz regulators to US propane tanks. The part costs $58 plus another $8 for shipping, this time tomorrow we should be cooking again.