Innovation in Global Power - Parsons Brinckerhoff

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Fishing Power
By Gordon Clark, Seattle, Washington 1-206-382-5246, clark@pbworld.com
It’s springtime in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. I’m looking out over Port Madison Bay on the Puget Sound,
wondering what the forecast is for offshore weather. It’s probably for moderate swells out of the west and stiff
northwesterly gusts, fresh and cold off the Bearing Sea. It’s always the same this time of year. By now I’m usually
in the middle of planning and outfitting for several deep sea fishing trips off the Oregon coast. Waiting out there
at depths between 100 and 200 meters are halibut fish weighing over 60 kilos. The big one that got away last year
is still out there. The sea gods are daring me again to challenge the wind and waves in a bid to put one of those
huge-ugly-delicious-wonderful fish on my barbeque. For ten consecutive years, since moving to the Seattle area, I
have come off victorious. This year will be different. This year I cannot accept the challenge. There will be no
moonlight crossings of the bar at 5:00 AM, no moments awestruck by the spectacular sunrises over Yaquina Head,
and no pounding 50-kilometer journeys offshore to where the halibut wait. There will be no probing the darkness
for stray crab pot floats as we clear the jetty, no navigation by GPS to the spot where the big fish are. There will
be no chatter on the marine band radio with the Halibut PAN, no tug of war with a barn-door-size brute, and no
bragging when I get back to the dock about the monster that got away again. This year I will be staying home. I
still can’t believe I am saying this. I can’t believe this is happening. As I stare out past the fir and alder trees and
focus on the boats and water I’m suddenly sad and depressed, and I can feel the ghost pains of a missing arm or
leg, like a piece of me has been removed. In an effort to console myself, I let the logical, rational engineer in me
review the facts that are prompting me to deny myself this ritual event.
I keep telling myself that it is really quite simple. The cost of
the trip has more than doubled in the last two years. While
I love to extol the adventurous independence of fishing and
the romantic lure of the sea, that is only half of it.The financial
benefit of eliminating the middleman in getting fish on the
barbeque has been a major plank in discussions with my wife
to gain a weekend off fishing with the boys. A few years ago
I could put fresher halibut on the grill than I could buy at the
local fish market and end up paying half their asking price.
That was back when oil was $50 a barrel and gas around $2
for 4 liters. Today the cost of gas to drive 600 miles round
trip to Depoe Bay plus the cost to put 300 liters of gas in
my brother’s boat is no longer palatable. Even if I were able
to catch a really, really big fish, the cost would work out to
be about the same—except that if I buy it at the fish market
I don’t have to bob like a bottle cap in a lake for ten hours
risking life and limb. Not that the prospect of drowning has
ever discouraged me from pushing out into the deep, but
the thought always lingered faintly in the back of my mind.
Dog-paddling in circles while waiting to slowly freeze to
death or get eaten by a shark is a horrible way to leave this
world. Now, just the thought of what the fish would actually
cost has spoiled my appetite. If this keeps up, I may have to
question my keen taste for salmon and ling cod—although
these can still be found much closer to shore.
I have thought about ways to cut costs so I could still make
the trip. One idea was wind power. I could sail right out of
Port Madison in my new sailboat, across Puget Sound and
out through the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Pacific Ocean.
I have even gone so far as to plot the course from Bainbridge
Island, where I live. The round trip would be roughly
400 nautical miles. If I had great winds, I could make a
speed of 6 knots and complete the trip in about 72 hours
of continuous sailing. I love to sail, but three days of nonstop
sailing changes a fishing trip into a sailing marathon. Besides,
I would much rather get fish blood and guts all over my
brother’s fishing boat than on my sailboat.
What I really need is a cheap source of reliable energy. The
boat is too small for a steam plant and it will be a few years
before portable nuclear reactors or cold fusion are available
at the local chandlery. The sailboat does harness the wind
but, like many small-scale energy collection devices, it is
hard to gather enough energy to power things at the
desired level. It takes a lot of power to drive a boat at
25 knots over swells and against ocean currents. Maybe a
hydrogen powered boat using something to extract the fuel
directly from seawater or the atmosphere? After much
brainstorming, I am forced to surrender to the sad fate
that I am not going fishing this year. At the same time,
I’ve realized this problem is way bigger than just my annual
fishing trips. The increasing demand for energy and its
increasing price affects all aspects of our lives. It is all the
more important to make the most of what we have while
we search for new sources of energy. This is where the
energy professionals at PB can help design state-of-the-art
power generation plants and transmission systems. If any
of you can figure out a way to power my boat for less,
we could discuss it over a fish barbeque.
Gordon Clark is a senior professional associate, senior project manager, and
coordinator of the Tunnel and Underground Engineering Practice Area Network
(PAN 37) He currently serves as chief engineer and technical lead for the
Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Project in Seattle, Washington.
PB Network #68 / August 2008 104