Round Britain Powerboat and Rib Challenge 2014

[Dan Gurney]

Originally Posted by Trevor G

Ah - a tough one as the two are linked..!
On Blue Ray we have a 250 Litre tank built-in. We average (over a whole season) 1.3 to 1.5 Litres per Nm, so in theory we have a "normal" range of about 160Nm to 190Nm.

In crap weather we have never done worse than 2 litres per nM so our planning range is 125Nm.

I have 150 Litres worth of "cans" at the moment - but of course I could get more if needed.
What I think I'm looking at is maybe having more frequent stops and getting top-ups of fuel en-route for those that need it, rather than one massive fill-up for all the boats at the same time. Some smaller boats will (or should) have much better fuel economy than us so maybe won't need as many top-ups.

So - for us, with 150 Litres of extra fuel in various containers, we have a range of between 200 and 300 nautical miles.

As ever - "it all depends" - which doesn't help!

Trev

You should have left the sussies in Baby Blue and you could have done it all on one tank!

[MustRib]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Doing it as part of a big organised event with extraordinary fuelling arrangements doesn't exactly fit that scenario either!

but it does in terms of budget John. Not having someone following you about with a trailer/tow vehicle, and all the costs associated with that.
Academic anyway now as the event is cancelled, and as everyone points out, much easier to do the trip by yourself or in company with another Rib, when it comes to fuel, than in a big group. Much more social in a big group, just wish that
local authorities were a little less jobsworth about it all.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by MustRib

but it does in terms of budget John. Not having someone following you about with a trailer/tow vehicle, and all the costs associated with that.

That may have been prudent anyway. The event organiser wasn't going to tow your boat home if you had a major mechanical, crew illness, or just the weather turned too nasty and you need to be back at work on time. I'm sure some of the teams on RI (and previous RBs) had to get land support, sometimes purely through the generosity of others.

just wish that local authorities were a little less jobsworth about it all

I'm not sure the right people are getting the blame, but even if it were, can you imagine the reaction if 1000L of petrol accidentally got dumped into a harbour; or a boat went up in flames an innocent harbour users boat with it.

[MustRib]

Originally Posted by Poly

I'm not sure the right people are getting the blame, but even if it were, can you imagine the reaction if 1000L of petrol accidentally got dumped into a harbour; or a boat went up in flames an innocent harbour users boat with it.

yes your right - far better have some enthusiastic boaters bring hundreds of litres
of gas to the quay and refuel their own boats, than have a professional fuelling company do it !

HMS email actually said ... Even with a costly introduction of a professional motor-sport re-fuelling service, some authorities and councils are still reluctant to even allow such professional refuelling.

[Boatnomad]

Originally Posted by Poly

Sirib - that is a really useful resource. I think there are a few new places not on there (I *think* Campbeltown and Inverness both have dockside Petrol now?). Is there any easy way we could put this in the "Features" part of the site and have it editable so e.g. any of the admins can update it? I'm not familiar with how google maps api works.

+1
Just what everyone looks for when planning a long trip and defiantly deserves a prominent place on RIBnet

[Poly]

Originally Posted by MustRib

yes your right - far better have some enthusiastic boaters bring hundreds of litres
of gas to the quay and refuel their own boats, than have a professional fuelling company do it !

I see your point, but be careful what you wish for - technically harbour masters probably have the remit to stop you loading your own fuel too! However whilst you might argue letting people DIY is nominally higher risk they will be doing so with roughly 20L quanta at any one time so the potential impact is much less than if something goes wrong on the bowser scale.

HMS email actually said ... Even with a costly introduction of a professional motor-sport re-fuelling service, some authorities and councils are still reluctant to even allow such professional refuelling.

But what does that really mean? The words I've highlighted are rather vague. As you know if you pick your stop offs to be where dockside petrol is available you simplify the problem significantly as you then only have to deal with the (albeit large) section where there is no such option. Reluctant is not the same as refusing and some is not all. It would be interesting to know when they opened the dialogue with the relevant authorities (the problem is not new - the legislation dates back to 1928 - and the latest revisions in 2002). The use of "professionals" may actually complicate things rather than simplify them as it then becomes a "workplace" with an extra layer of regulation.

To go back to the original point I picked up on, I'm not sure this is "jobsworth" local authorities, it was THE fundamental challenge of organising the event. I'd have expected it to be addressed very early on in the planning.

[MustRib]

damned if you do - damned if you don't
we have such a litigious society now.....it does seem that
no one wants to manage the risks inherent with fuelling boats.
Am sure a professional company carries insurance for refuelling operations.
I am curious though - outside the confines of the harbour, and forgetting cost for the moment,
is there any legislation to prevent RAS taking place ?
(assuming you found some lee and a suitable tug/lighter/barge)

[Poly]

Originally Posted by MustRib

damned if you do - damned if you don't
we have such a litigious society now...

maybe, but we're at risk of straying into political territory and that's a strict no-no on RIBnet.

..it does seem that no one wants to manage the risks inherent with fuelling boats.
Am sure a professional company carries insurance for refuelling operations.

well, you'd like to think so, but perhaps it doesn't cover marine pollution, or perhaps as is often the case when you put a middleman in the way the organiser didn't know enough about its scope to satisfy those responsible that it covered the risks involved. You generally can't insure against fines, so if SEPA/EPA believe an spill occurs due to poor management whilst the cleanup cost might be covered various people would have significant exposure - simply saying "if we spill it we are insured to clean it up" would not be a defence to pollution charges.

I am curious though - outside the confines of the harbour, and forgetting cost for the moment, is there any legislation to prevent RAS taking place ? (assuming you found some lee and a suitable tug/lighter/barge)

I'm not sure, but Hugo was obviously constrained to practical and financially viable suggestions (which I'm sure that is not).

[Jim Robinson]

http://www.thepetroltankcompany.co.uk/
Found this a while ago, they make a petrol trailer,not sure how you would get on filling and car insurance.

[Jizm]

Originally Posted by Jim Robinson

http://www.thepetroltankcompany.co.uk/
Found this a while ago, they make a petrol trailer,not sure how you would get on filling and car insurance.

I bought a tank from them and they are very good. Excellent service and really helpful.