Fisherman Returning to Use of Sails as Fuel Costs Rise
July 31, 2008 · Print This Article
Commercial fishermen are going back to the good old days of free fuel in response to the rising costs of diesel. By free fuel, of course, I mean wind power – they’re outfitting their boats with auxiliary sails to cut the amount of diesel they go through. Soon, however, they won’t have to rig their ships – a new generation of vessels is being developed that will rely almost completely on sails.
From The Telegraph:
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said a number of skippers were now using sail power to help them travel the long distances between port and their fishing grounds.
“Skippers are putting on foresails while steaming to fishing grounds offshore,” he said. “The whole cost structure of the industry has shifted so dramatically as a result of fuel price rises, and in response, vessels are looking at what they can do to reduce costs.
“Fleets are going to have to find ways of reducing fuel dependency. Everyone is looking for the optimum steaming speed and people are looking at a whole range of measures, including sail.”
Auxiliary sails were common until the 1980s, when engines became more powerful and fuel was plentiful and cheap. One fisherman interviewed for this article said that with his auxiliary sails, engine revolutions were reduced from 1300 to 900 on a 3-hour trip, and they still made the same speed.
It’s pretty awesome that fisherman are going back to wind power – I wonder if pirates will soon do the same. Hey, a bottom line’s a bottom line.
Link [The Telegraph]
Photo credit: Flickr user mikebaird
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That is a really incredible story. Over the last two months it very much seems the focus has turned to wind over other options of renewable energy. I noticed in a reuters report today that Wind was now the most common source of renewable energy here in the UK.
I wonder what other forms of transport might be able to benefit from wind?
[...] says fishermen are returning to sailing as fuel costs [...]
About a year ago I read @ Treehugger about a solar powered vessal that crossed the Atlantic from England to New York. It took awhile though.