Here we go again...maybe hi fuel costs

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Hey Guys (and Gals),
It seems we are in another round of increasing fuel costs based largely on fear of the middle east and speculators. Anyway, as many know I am in the tourism biz and high fuel costs have directly impacted travel and tourism to the Smoky Mountains in a bad way. The result is I have had to cut back on my coastal fishing trips and so forth because my revenue is down. I wonder what will happen to the marine industry if and when gas goes up again this summer with little relief in sight?

How will $5 a gallon gas effect your boating and fishing habits if it comes to that this spring and summer? It will put a huge dent in mine especially going offshore.

 

[ElyseM]

drift. :mrgreen:

i actually bought an oil hedge a few years back after this bs started the first time (in recent history). i don't actually do anything with it, but when oil goes up so does the hedge; so i get mental assurance that it's not really costing me more money to fill the tank.

i'm wet slipped so i spend a lot of time at the marina just enjoying the outdoors. we will all make due some how. ron

 

[magicalbill]

I'll tell you how it affects me..
1.) Tie and fender off fuel dock at Hawks Cay, mid-January 2012.
2.) Attendant hands me fuel nozzle; I begin filling my 3/4 empty 150 gallon tank on my 232 Gulfstream
3.) Aware of the $5.12 pump price, I start wondering what the tab will be.
4.)I hadn't long to be in doubt..

$495.00 to fill an outboard boat that wasn't even empty.

I'm getting pretty good at anchoring and sitting all afternoon at my favorite sandbar off Marathon.

Smoky, get a cookie jar and start putting cash in it NOW for your Abacos trip in June.

I also agree with ElyseM; Just being aboard the boat at the marina in the slip is enjoyable; There's ways around high prices..There always are.

 

[Tashmoo]

I look at my fuel bill as part of my summer vacation budget. So this year we are going on a more expensive vacation, perhaps we will stay a little closer to home.

Bluntly, it will not impact my time on the water, I will bitch about it but in the end I will pay the bill. All other options are not options as far as I can see.

 

[Gbruno]

I removed my second gas tank

 

[Cocoliso VI]

I agree with the thought that there is no better option than boating so I will still use the boat and bite the bullet. My way around this is something that I learned from the Admiral, she will not spend $500 on any one item but has no issue with buying 10 $50 items. I took a page from her book and I only use the 70 gal spare tank on my Sailfish it requires more trips to the pump but somehow they seem less painful, does this make any sense, however I still keep the big tank full for emergencies just in case gas goes to double digits in which case Iwill buy a blowboat ( God Forbid).

 

[chesapeake]

??

If someone does something stupid to Iran and starts another war over there we will think $5.00 a gallon was a good deal.

If there is no war I would guess the speculators will start taking losses as demand diminishes and prices will fall again.


.

 

[Salinity Now]

??


If there is no war I would guess the speculators will start taking losses as demand diminishes and prices will fall again.


.

Absolutely.......this is such a repeat of last January when Egypt started the "Arab Spring".....gas shot back up into the triple digits.....we complained about it pretty hard in the summer of 2008; peaked in early Sept I think......bottom fell out in mid Sept if memory serves me right. I remember then, they said gas would NEVER get below $2.00 again, it happened the winter of 2008 and into 2009. Bottomed out at $36/barrel after that; oh how quickly we forget.......

My boat guzzles gas like nobodys business, I honesntly cannot afford (both mentally and financially) to run twin 250s at 1mpg avg and actually enjoy the boat.

It will impact my time on the water, boat will stay local, fish only days that seem just right with a group of guys sharing the burden, ironically, $5/gal gas makes me lean harder and harder towards a $30,000 repower!!!!

 

[Grog]

It's specualtors bending us over a barrel. We did basically nothing to prevent 2008 from happening again. Iran "stops selling" oil to countries they never sold that much to and threatens to shut down the straight. What's the longest time they might be able to shut it for 1 week? Iran needs to sell oil if they want to continue functioning, we can last longer without boating than they can without food.

Either they are attacked or they nuke someone later, still the same outcome.

 

[LUNDINROOF]

One solution to the problem is evident here in the northern gulf coast. Drill baby, drill.

The tree-huggers cry about pollution and use the BP spill as an example of things that could happen. But, if it wasn't for the attorneys, not much would be in the news about pollution around Louisiana and Mississippi. I can't speak for Alabama and Florida but I doubt you can find much impact to those two states from the spill. BP ponied up to the bar when needed and are still buying drinks for anyone that asks.

Some years ago, they built a natural gas terminal in Louisiana to import natural gas. They are planning to spend millions to convert this plant to a natural gas export terminal because of the large amount of natural gas they are finding in the shale deposits in LA and Mississippi. Our energy is going to be exported because we will not take advantage of it and build pipelines to the northern states that need a cheap fuel to burn in their generating plants.

Your president, Mr. Obama has forced the Canadians to build pipelines to the west so that they can send their excess oil to China. Don't send it to us, it might upset a spotted owl.

Our entire energy policy is so screwed up that it might take 15 years to straighten it out if we started now. Unfortunately, we cannot start now, we must wait for at least another year.

Sorry, I had to get this off my chest.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Yall: Dont laugh, but that jar idea, well in my house, it is real! :lol: The Admiral bought me this cool hand made pottery jar that says fishing fund on it. I take spare change and so forth and put money in it. There is a few hundred bucks in it right now. I suspect if I had my boat in a slip in a busy marina on the water, any water fresh or salt, and there was some dock life, people watching, hanging out on the boat on a summer Saturday afternoon would actually be quite relaxing. I know when we take her to the Keys it is something we do in the evenings a few of the nights down there. It is relaxing just being on the boat on the water at the dock.

I am hoping things calm down with gas prices though.....maybe if Iran goes all crazy, then the political will to finally address our own energy needs once and for all? Maybe.