British Columbia Fuel Prices

[Brent Swain]

Last summer fuel prices at Secret cove Marina in Secret Cove BC were 22 cents a litre higher than at Bucaneer Marina, a short distance up the harbour. I wonder if it will be the same this year.
Diesel prices are much higher at Heriot Bay Inn on Quadra Island than at Gorge Harbour Marina a few miles away.
Could others keep us posted of such differences thruout the summer? It could force prices down and make cruising a lot more affordable.
Brent

[Pblais]

Could others keep us posted of such differences thruout the summer? It could force prices down and make cruising a lot more affordable.

I think your small part of the world is isolated enough that a worldwide forum won't really mean much.

Marinas charge more for fuel because they want the extra money more than they think you will go some place else to buy it. So will you?

[Lodesman]

Paul that's a little harsh - thousands of American boats, and charterers from around the globe sail that region each summer. That said, maybe it's a better idea for Brent to search the various marina reporting websites and if necessary lobby them to report gas prices. Or perhaps he could start up his own site along the lines of this: Ottawa Gas Prices - ottawagasprices.com

Kevin

[Pblais]

Fuel prices are not a secret. Seems to me pretty easy to call a few local marinas to get fuel prices. They change daily in most parts of the world. In the end you vote with your feet.

If you won't travel to get cheaper fuel then you can get into a practice many power boaters use. They start hauling fuel in their own trucks so they don't have to buy it at the marinas. Hauling around large quantities of fuel and getting it aboard the boat in the dark seems like a bad idea but to save a few bucks to them seems fine.

I'm not sure reporting fuel prices on this board are of any value what so ever. When you consider the membership is global, tracking fuel prices at that scale on this board is quite impractical if not impossible. The marinas know how high they set their price. They sure can sell it.

High fuel costs are a big issue to a lot of people not just boaters. Gas price web sites are just a way to generate click through web ad traffic. You see a price and when you get there in your car it's different. "finding the lowest fuel prices" is the new scam that preys on the original scam. It won't help lower fuel prices and you won't save any money. It's about up there with the promotions to not buy gas on a certain day to teach the oil companies a lesson.

[Pura Vida]

I don't know about marinas but most prices offered by franchises in the US are set by the wholesaler and the retailer has little abiliity to adjust the price.

Recently we drove to Kerrville, Texas and back to Houston. You would assume that the transportation costs would change the pump price but it does not. In fact the farther away from the refinery the cheaper the gas, althought not by much. I suspect that market elasticity has more to do with the price of fuel than competition and for people willing to spend $50K + on their hobby, fuel is very elastic. A power boat broker I know said that no serious customer has ever mentioned fuel prices to him.

A boat recently exploded at the dock over at South Shore Harbor because some one was fueling in his slip.

[Lodesman]

Paul, I didn't disagree that this forum is not the best place for this topic; I had issue with you calling the area a "small, isolated part of the world." It's considerably larger than the Chesapeake, and considering it's central to a cruising area that extends from Puget Sound to Alaska, it's comparable in scope to the island chain of the Caribbean.
There are a number of sites devoted to the San Juan and Gulf Islands, such as: The Waggoner Cruising Guide, Annual Guide to Northwest Boating from Weatherly Press There are many more, but I deleted them when I left the left coast. As I suggested before, that should be where Brent should take his idea.

BTW, the Ottawa gas price site may be paid for with banner ads, but the prices are input by the users. In Ottawa, all of the gas stations change the prices several times throughout the day, every day of the year - it's quite the game. The prices change by up to 10 cents per litre (roughly 40 cents per gallon) over the course of the day. You can't possibly suggest the wholesaler has anything to do with that.

Kevin

[DeepFrz]

Paul, interesting, I was just reading another thread where two people were talking about their home grounds and where they moored their boats, etc. I don't see anyone complaining to them that this is a worldwide forum. I would hate to see the tone of this forum become intolerant and exclusive. One only needs to visit the Sailnet forum to see what intolerance can do to a forum.

[CaptainK]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

It's considerably larger than the Chesapeake, and considering it's central to a cruising area that extends from Puget Sound to Alaska, it's comparable in scope to the island chain of the Caribbean.

True. It is a much larger area than the Chesapeake area.

Wrong. That area is barely half the size of the Caribbean, Kevin.

Unless, you are counting on all of Alaska's southern waters?

[Capct]

Seattle is just a hundred miles or so away.Vancouver is 24 miles away.I can hit Victoria in 30 minutes from where I am.
Vancouver has the 2010 Olympics ....yup its an isolated little backwater.

Louis has a good point.I think it is because all the brand retailers have left the water and Since all the major players got out of the marine fuel business in BC all these fuel stations are truly independent when it comes to prices.To my knowledge there are 3 or four PetroCanada's left and thats it.Nanaimo~Campbell river~Port Hardy.
So the prices really can be mile apart.

In BC where I am moored it is 1.39 a litre last week.
Im sure it would be cheaper in Sidney
It is price gouging but given these marinas only make money for a few months of the year ....can ya blame them?

Most locals will fuel their own boats.Unless they are big boats ....then its a headache

[Brent Swain]

It was $1.04 a litre in Gorge Harbour a week ago. The lesson is don't make a beeline to t he first gas dock you see, especially in Secret cove.
We talk a lot about specific areas here.
Brent

[Pblais]

I don't see anyone complaining to them that this is a worldwide forum. I would hate to see the tone of this forum become intolerant and exclusive.

How far will you travel to buy fuel? That is how I define local. Everyone is local some place. In that respect we are all very much equal.

I'm not intolerant to local folks any more than you are. I have two places I can purchase fuel. I won't travel 10 miles to buy it. To that extent I'm intolerant. I'm sure we all have found preferences where we like to do business. Price is an issue but not the only issue.

[Capct]

its simply economics...if it cost a half of tank of gas to travel to get a cheap tank of fuel .... what is the point? Here I have a fuel dock 1000 yds away otherwise the next closest fuel is at least 10-15 miles away.
I will plan my itinerary however to get to a spot along the way where cheaper fuel is available.But I wont go beyond a few miles to find it ...you end up losing in the burn whatever your saving on the buy.

Price is an issue to everyone but perhaps the economy of scale is greater with gas powerhouses.

[GordMay]

There’s an iteration of Murphy’s Law, that states that (when cruising):
“The driest, cheapest fuel is dispensed on the other side of the mountain (hill).“

[Lodesman]

CaptK - If you were to island hop the Caribbean islands from Port Of Spain to Nassau it would be just under 1600 miles; if you were to travel the inside passages from Seattle to Anchorage, it would be just over 1500 miles - with hundreds of harbours ranging the gamut from remotest wilderness to major metropolis. So, as I said before, the scope of the cruising area is comparable.

[CaptainK]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

CaptK - If you were to island hop the Caribbean islands from Port Of Spain to Nassau it would be just under 1600 miles; if you were to travel the inside passages from Seattle to Anchorage, it would be just over 1500 miles - with hundreds of harbours ranging the gamut from remotest wilderness to major metropolis. So, as I said before, the scope of the cruising area is comparable.

Well, I stand corrected.

Like I said on my last post. Unless you are counting all of Alaska's southern waters.

But the area you are talking about is more of a "beeline route". Where as the Caribbean is more of a broader area. And not a "beeline".

So "yes". They are quite comparable.