OUTRAGEOUS FUEL PRICES
Is this the end, or a new beginning for sport fishing?

  Most Journal readers have gone well-beyond a “fishing is a hobby” mentality and approach the sport like it is “a way of life.” With fuel costs rising and diesel approaching the $5 per gallon mark, I believe the time has come to begin making serious changes to some old, well-embedded fuel-wasting habits we all harbor, particularly if we ever want to return to the offshore waters to chase big fish. The theme of this issue is “Save Fuel to Save our Sport.” Not the most exciting of topics we’ve ever published, but one of the most important issues we’ve ever sent to press.
  The days of the fast cruise, unbalanced props, unmonitored fuel performance, and dirty bottoms are long gone and the time to pull those throttles back—way back—and fine tune that old boat into a fuel efficient machine has already arrived.
  This past December, I ran the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, my 3208 Caterpillar powered 32-foot Blackfin fly bridge to Cape May, N.J., for an evaluation and engine restoration by the people at the Canyon Club Service department. Our Sept./Oct., issue has a Refurb, Restore, Rebuild and Repower theme and I will provide the particulars of the work done by Dave Wrigley’s crew in that article. But for this fuel-saving issue, it is a prime example of what can be done to squeeze more miles out of every gallon of fuel.
  Not to cut too deeply into my Sept./Oct., article, the comparison of the trip down in the fall to the trip back to my dock in the spring was compelling. A speed jump from 19 knots at 2400 RPM to 23 knots at 2300 RPMs was experienced, while pyrometer temperatures at the exhaust elbow dropped from 950 degrees to 800 degrees. With an increase in speed and a cooler fuel burn, the boat produced a fuel savings of 16 gallons over the 80 nautical mile trip. This translates into an approximate 45 gallon savings with every run to and from the continental shelf. At $5 per gallon this represents a savings of $225 at the pump. Now that fuel saving will be experienced at 2300 RPMs, but what if I pull those throttles back to 1900, 2000, 2100 RPMs? What kind of fuel savings can be achieved at the slower speeds? It will increase the trip time over one hour, but if I can find that “sweet spot,” I can possibly save an additional 20 to 30 gallons off the entire run and that can translate into another $100 to $150 in additional fuel savings.
  Years ago our modus operandi was to run off at 11 p.m., at 10 to 12 knots and reaching an area 10 miles inside the shelf at dawn. From there we trolled the 10 miles into the shelf and reversed the process heading back to the barn. That procedure went out the door, and for the past 10-plus years we ran hard right to the shelf and sometimes to the mouth or alligator bite of a canyon (In the Hudson Canyon that’s an additional 13 miles). When the time came to “pull the plug,” we picked up our gear no matter where we were and ran home. Reverting back to the old ways, trolling instead of traveling at cruise speed the 10- to 20-plus miles out to the shelf and beyond, then back, could also save a substantial amount of fuel. If running at night is not your “cup of tea,” than leave at dawn and you’ll arrive 10 miles inside the shelf by noon. You can then troll into the shelf and spend the night on the edge. In the morning troll back inshore and pickup and run from well inside the shelf.
My last trip offshore I burned 280 gallons of diesel, which translates into $1400 in fuel costs alone at $5 per gallon. Dividing that up among five crewmen comes to putting $280 apiece into the trip pot. But getting that fuel amount down to 200 gallons brings the fuel cost down to $200 per man, which makes the trip more tolerable.
The dock chatter in the ‘80s and ‘90s was of “speed, speed and more speed.” Anglers listened, green with envy, of the 30-knot cruise boat that could fly across the water and make the shelf in just a few hours. My, have things changed!
  Today the discussions have turned from speed to gallons per hour (GPH), from running faster to running smarter. Remember, it doesn’t matter how fast you get offshore anymore—what is important is being able to afford to get there—no matter at what speed.

Capt. Len Belcaro