Having a breakdown at sea, and especially in the Bristol Channel, would be extremely scary, with very strong tides, navigational hazards and shipping movements, but we were suddenly confronted with a serious, and uncommon problem.
Jiggers, our 43ft Bruce Roberts Mauritius, is ketch rigged and built in steel, with two 500-litre steel fuel tanks built into the hull. The fuel has always been clean, clear and there’s never been any sludge or bug in the filters. I’ve added bug treatment for preventative maintenance, according to the instructions. Our diesel engine is a Volvo Penta MD22 60hp and we have never had an issue with it. It has always been regularly serviced and doesn’t miss a beat, starting first time every time. I’m pretty certain the fuel we took on board was clean, as our berth at the yacht club has its own fuel pump and nobody else has reported this fuel issue at the club.
We try only to use the engine when really necessary, but we use the engine quite often to help speed things up, and the diesel also gets used by a small generator and a Webasto water boiler for heating and hot
