The Continuing Biodiesel Adventures in
"Putting the 'Bean' in Caribbean"
"Putting the 'Bean' in Caribbean"
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"The following report is provided here in Capt. Jim MacNeil's own words. MacNeil and Rebecca Payne are burning a 20 percent blend of biodiesel fuel aboard their ketch "Beyond" as they cruise the Carribean. Their reports are sponsored by the Ohio Soybean Council in conjunction with the Maryland Soybean Board, and by the biodiesel manufacturer NOPEC Corp. of Lakeland, Fla." |
May 1998 - Beautiful Puerto Rico spells trouble for fellow cruisers
SALINAS P.R.--The reefs in Puerto Rico, with their crystal clear water and abundant, colorful marine life are a prime attraction for yachtsmen, divers, and anglers. Snorkeling in the calm lagoon to leeward of the reefs, or diving the deep windward walls, lavender sea fans and the fins of numerous colorful fishes waving in a friendly manner can convey a calming sensation not unlike the appeal of a huge aquarium in an elegant restaurant. The scene below is quite unlike the rage above, however, where these same reefs can take on a completely different character in conditions other than absolute calm. In peril is a boat pinned against the sharp, jagged coral banks. Breaking waves pound the hull and rocks tear away at fiberglass and wood as if it were cardboard.
Good-byes are one of the difficult things about cruising - everyone, their boats, and itineraries taking them in different directions at different times - but the reunions with good friends make up for it. Steve and Laura Brown, their 15-year old son Cory and 5-year old Christy had just completed a cruise down the Windward and Leeward Islands on their 40' Moody, Orontes , and were homeward bound for Texas when we were reunited in Salinas. Just like family, the Browns were there for us in Luperon as we struggled through Beyond's lightning strike, fire, and salvage. After spending a week sailing, diving, shopping, sharing meals and card games during our time together in Puerto Rico, it was time for them to push on and we promised to see each other again someday.
They had not been out of the harbor an hour yet and we heard Laura call to say a final good-bye. As if someone had thrown a switch, her calm voice went silent. Then we heard the chilling declaration: "We're on a reef!" Steve Brown and his son Cory were the first to arrive to help fight the fire the night lightning struck my boat in Luperon last September. Now they were in trouble and I did not think twice about rushing to help.
Unable to sit by the radio to see how things turned out, Mike Cunningham (Sea Trek, Conn.) and I rushed out in our tenders. If we got there soon enough, we might be able to set an anchor to hold them off the reef. It had just gotten dark. Soon we could see the lights of the stranded boat and she was already listing a bit to port.
Unable to see the reef in the dark, I got as close as I dared, then shut off the motor to listen for instructions of how I might help or get an anchor out for them. The same strong wind and current that pushed Orontes too close to the reef quickly got a hold of me and my small boat. I soon realized the power with which the boat was being pinned against the reef when a large wave broke against my boat. They watched my boat go by theirs upside down, the propeller sticking straight up in the air. Then they saw me standing in knee deep water alongside Orontes . After managing to wrestle my dingy and tie it behind Orontes , I clambered aboard.
15-year old Cory was on the foredeck getting a second anchor and rode ready and Steve fastened a life jacket around it. I was soon back in the water trying to swim against the powerful surf which had Orontes pinned. We needed to get the anchor out far enough to pull the boat to deeper water. Progress against the powerful surf was difficultówhere is a rip-tide when you need one? Even with scuba fins, it didnít get much easier past the breakersóthere was just more anchor line out for the waves to push against. Steve jumped in the water to help pay out line and keep it from getting snagged. Several boat lengths away, I tore off the life jacket and sent the hook to the bottom.
Back aboard Orontes , Steve and Cory began pulling on the anchor for all their worth. Steve asked me to start the engine to provide power for the electric windlass, but make sure the engine did not overheat. The electric windlass was being put to the torture test and soon the cabin smelled like burning carbon and a hot, overworked electric motor. Laura and I dug several lines out of lockers and we began to assemble a long tow line. Steve swam this out to Synergy, a trimaran which came to assist.
About every ten or fifteen minutes several waves, larger than average, would slam against the hull sending spray high into the air and across the deck. The pounding of the largest waves was often followed by a sickening crunching sound and we would lose more ground. For a few seconds saltwater would rain down on us and the boat. Moving about became extremely difficult as Orontes leaned over further and further and soon the side of the hull was resting in a foot of water and the keel largely exposed to windward.
Whether she knew it or not, 5-year old Christy was a hero that night. Buckled into her yellow and orange life jacket, this brave kid wedged herself in a safe corner of the salon and did not cry or complain once. She pulled her long blonde hair away from her face, held it back with a purple fuzzy and let us all know that right now she was courageous enough to look after herself, thus allowing the rest of us to tend to the boat, the anchors, and the radio. When water began appearing in her corner, she simply found another dry spot for herself.
After a few hours we were still unable to pull the boat into deeper water and water was finally starting to rise inside the boat. Cory was unable to open the access plate for the manual pump. "No time for WD-40," I said, and whacked the hinge pin a few times with the pump handle and it freed. At first we could pump the boat dry in a few minutes. We were all hoping the water was somehow coming from the spray that would wash over the boat after being slammed by a wave and not the result of unseen damage to the hull. Later, when pumping became useless, Steve and I started to look for the damage. We would have to patch it before trying to pull the boat off again
I was rooting through the lockers in the salon, Steve in the cockpit lockers. Having just provisioned for the trip home, Laura had the lockers chock full. I pulled out tool boxes, spare parts, canned goods then rocks. Rocks? Why did they store rocks in the bilge lockers? I stuck my arm into the water again and felt around. The side of the boat, in this section at lest, had been replaced by coral rock. I wasn't quite sure how to tell Steve this. There was talk of a Coast Guard Cutter possibly en route which may try to pull the boat off, however, for now she was much safer right here.
At this point there wasn't much more that could be done for Orontes except to make sure that nothing else was damaged. Important personal things were moved to dry locations in the boat. Synergy moved around and anchored in the lee of the reef. And we discussed plans to evacuate. The USCG cutter was only a few hours away so we decided to wait for them before attempting to leave. Besides cuts and bruises, no one was hurt and we did not want to risk losing someone trying to get to the nearby anchored boat. After the engine on my inflatable had been underwater, I was unsure if it would run; the oars were long gone (as well as all the other gear in the boat prior to capsizing). We made ourselves as comfortable as possible, raided the icebox, made space for ourselves on the cabin floor and waited.
The crew of the Coast Guard small boat maneuvered through the maze of coral rock toward Orontes , getting much closer than I ever imagined they would. It took skilled piloting and progress was frustratingly slow. They reached a dead end when they were still several boat lengths away. I suggested we evacuate everyone to the rescue boat in my Avon inflatable, then tow the inflatable to Synergy. The breakers were pounding my little boat onto the reef and I was hoping we could get it out of there anyway before the bow-eye was ripped off sending my inflatable boat off into the Caribbean.
The next day the real work began. With several dingies in tow, Beyond headed out to Arrecife Media Luna (half moon reef) and anchored near Orontes . We began shuttling personal items, provisions, and gear off of the stricken vesselówhich sounds much easier than it was. A hard dingy was tethered to Orontes and to an inflatable anchored behind the reef in a couple feet of water. The dingy was drawn as close to Orontes as possible, loaded up, then pulled out to the inflatable where another inflatable would be waiting to haul the belongings to Beyond or Synergy where they were stacked in the cabin and piled on deck. This went on for two days.
Back at the marina where we unloaded their belongings it was all too reminiscent of our salvage of Beyond just seven months prior. Mountains of clothes needed to be washed and dried; tools rinsed and oiled; salt and sand removed from toys and Barbie dolls, electronics and appliances cleaned, tested, and often surrendered to the trash pile. Books and charts had to be laid out in the sun so that they would dry. Somehow the rum always seems to survive these tragedies unharmed. After a barge and crane arrived to liberate Orontes on the third day, we went back once more day to dive up anchors that had been cut loose and tools which were jammed in the boat but had fallen out when the crane lifted it onto the barge and carried away the totaled boat.
The fuel tank never ruptured and the boat did not sink in this case, but water pollution from petroleum spills is often a concern when vessels are sunk, grounded, or involved in collisions. Coast Guard officials are often called to the scene of boating accidents to determine the risk or extent of a petroleum spill. The cost of the clean-up, plus any fines, are the responsibility of the boat owner (or insurance company). Orontes was not using BioDiesel at the time of the grounding.
While an oil spill containing SoyDiesel should still be reported as any other oil spill, there would be far fewer headaches involved in cleaning up a product which is less toxic than table salt and has the biodegradability of sugar. Even when SoyDiesel is mixed with petroleum diesel to make a BioBlend, the biodegradability of the petroleum portion of the mixture is enhanced by the soybean based additive. Less damage to the environment is certain, but less damage to your pocketbook may result as the higher biodegradability and easier clean-up of a BioDiesel spill could mean fewer charges for environmental response teams and oil containment in some areas.
BioDiesel has even been used to clean up the oily mess left ashore after a large oil spill in Puerto Rico. It's cleansing ability washes the thick, petroleum oil off of rocks and shoreline and helps to float it off where it can be contained by booms and vacuumed up. The soy fuel cleaner also accelerates the biodegradability of any residual mixture left in the water.
I was sure glad to have had BioDiesel in my tanks when our boat caught fire. The fact that SoyDiesel raises the flash point of petroleum diesel (straight SoyDiesel flashes at double the Fahrenheit temperature) may be the reason my boat was not lost. Following the loss of the Orontes , I am reminded again that BioDiesel is safer for the boat, its occupants, the environment, and even insurance companies.
Coming up: Fifteen year old Cory Brown sails aboard Beyond to the island of Culebra where we volunteered to help biologists study the nesting habits of the endangered leatherback turtles. One of the oldest living creatures, this dinosaur "cousin" needs to be better understood and protected as its population throughout much of the world is in sharp decline.