BLUEMOMENT

.
I have it from my Kerrera correspondent that diesel is no longer available to visiting yachts there.

My own Kerrera correspondent concurs and also provides an explanation for this sad state of affairs but this is probably libellous and so best not repeated here.

Far from impressive season, but promises of a brighter future?..

Overheard in Tarbert on Saturday... "We don't sell diesel, but you can get it over there Mon-Fri". (pointing to the fishing pier)
The skipper of the Irish Mobo looked at his 1st mate (F), and shrugged. "looks like 2 nights here then".

According to the Oban Times, the MCA has stopped them bringing in diesel:
"Oban Marina on Kerrera had been bringing fuel to the island by containers on a landing craft but the MCA has said that it is not safe."

Derek

[quote="mm5aho"]Overheard in Tarbert on Saturday... "We don't sell diesel, but you can get it over there Mon-Fri". (pointing to the fishing pier)
The skipper of the Irish Mobo looked at his 1st mate (F), and shrugged. "looks like 2 nights here then".[/quote


He may be lucky, but I have not managed to get diesel in Tarbert since 2012. Every time I got the sob story about how they were short of the stuff and had to keep it for fishing boats. Which I thought was a bit daft as I only have a 20 gallon tank and the fishing boats probably use more to clean paintbrushes.

Could the refusal in Tarbert be related to the paperwork, 60% - 40% et all now required by the Uk/EEC regulations. More bother than what it is worth. Anyways Tarbert Harbour should have a seperate fuel filling pump established for yachts if there is a demand for such fuels if they kept the price competitive. My experience of Tarbert Harbour authority is only relating to monetary aspects. The toilets and facilities etc are truly basic for having been a major yacht base since Viking and Birlinn times.

Reluctance to do the paperwork is a possible reason. A couple of years ago we took on about a 100 litres in a fairly remote area. "Let's call it a pound a litre" said the guy. When I asked for a receipt I was given a handwritten note, and nothing about the 60:40. I'm not an untrustful person, but it did cross my mind that perhaps I was witness to the Law of Unintended Consequences.......

Avoiding "the Revenue" is a long established tradition particularly in rural areas whose details are best kept out of fora and the like. I have heard tell of red diesel sources where declarations of usage are ignored and prices are reasonable - just wish there was something similar for whisky.
Kerrera was one of the mathematically challenged places where anything other than 0, 100 or 60:40 was too difficult. I have heard the argument that a marine diesel is only around ~22% efficient - the rest going to increase the entropy of the universe, so a 20:80 split could be justified.

mm5aho wrote:Overheard in Tarbert on Saturday... "We don't sell diesel, but you can get it over there Mon-Fri". (pointing to the fishing pier)
The skipper of the Irish Mobo looked at his 1st mate (F), and shrugged. "looks like 2 nights here then".

Did no one point them across the water to Portavadie?

Mind you, I think that I paid £19 for my 15 litres of 60:40 red.

I usually buy £13 of garage forecourt white in a jerrycan,and that gets me about 9 and 1/2 litres.

Ash