The Continuing Biodiesel Adventures in
"Putting the 'Bean' in Caribbean"
"Putting the 'Bean' in Caribbean"
(ALLAN'S CAY, BAHAMAS/NORTHERN EXUMAS) - The adventurers aboard the biodiesel-powered ketch Beyond are beginning to move in "island time," a slower, gentler tempo that's as far away from the rat race pace of nine-to-fiving as Beyond is, now, from it's home port on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Jim MacNeil, 30, and Rebecca
Payne, 25, left first Salisbury, Md., and, later, Wikander's
Boat Yard in Eden, Md., Nov. 24. Since then, the pair - and
their cat "Brewser" - have heralded the debut of
clean-burning "BioBooster" biodiesel at the BOAT/U.S. store
in Charleston, S.C.; manned the biodiesel booth at the Miami
Boat Show; and whiled away nearly a month in Florida's
beautiful Keys.
They left U.S. waters March 3. "We had a splended 22-hour crossing of the Gulf Stream with favorable winds which eventually went light, forcing us to motorsail towards Cat Cay (near Bimini) as the swift current wanted to whisk us back toward the Chesapeake," MacNeil says.
Beyond's 44-hp Yanmar inboard burns a 20 percent blend of biodiesel, made in Florida by NOPEC Corporation. Biodiesel, marketed under the trade name "BioBooster" and donated by the Maryland Soybean Board and NOPEC, is a nontoxic and biodegradable diesel fuel made from soybean oil which helps diesel engines run cooler, reduces emissions, and makes exhaust smell better.
The pair has taken time to enjoy the amenities of the islands in this part of their two-year cruise. Spearfishing, snorkeling and conching were excellent at Little Harbor Cay. From there, they sailed to Nassau. A little path, followed to the other side of the island, brought scenery "typical of a Bahamas postcard," MacNeil says. "But don't get jealous too quick - paradise has its price.
"The boatkeeping chores occupy more of our time than do the sandy beaches," he explains. "For every ten hours spent hauling sails and anchors, inflating and deflating the tender, stowing gear, washing clothes, spearfishing, cleaning conch and performing boat maintenance, we may get to spend one hour on the beach, at a bonfire, or as dinner guest aboard another boat."
Burning biodiesel saves them some work. Because it burns clean, they spend no time scrubbing the telltale petro-diesel halo from the stern. And MacNeil has noted that engine maintenance is reduced.
"Engine maintenance is much
less a concern as long as we continue to use biodiesel," the
sailor says. "I no longer have to worry about clogged
injectors, plugged up fuel filters, and an engine that won't
turn up to full RPM's due to carbon build-up. On our last
cruise, we only got as far as Florida before carbon build-up
began choking my engine. It's much easier and safer to use a
biodiesel blend to keep the buildup from occuring in the
first place. Had we not been using biodiesel as a
conditioner, I'm convinced we would be preparing to pull the
head off the engine to clean the valves and pistons.
Instead, Rebecca and I are getting ready to go play
volleyball on the beach."
Work and play aside, there's time for charity, too, on this cruise. At Exuma Park, a marine and wildlife reserve dependent on donations and volunteers, MacNeil spent a day donating his marine electronics skills to help Warden Ray Darville install a plotter and GPS receiver in a pilot boat the park is outfitting as a supply and search and rescue vessel. Back home, MacNeil installed and maintained similar systems for Martek of Ocean City, Md.
"Rebecca and I support their efforts to maintain a conservatory and fisheries reserve so that wildlife and marine creatures will have a place to mature, reproduce and help restock the entire Bahamas," MacNeil says.
Next stop: The Turks, Caicos Island and the Dominican Republic.