The One with the Farewell

Our final send off in London

The One with the Trade

For those in the know of the offshore world it is common knowledge that during your time offshore you run out of provisions especially in our current location, Africa. These things are usually pretty trivial and there is usually a substitute available. For example we have run out of bars of soap at the moment so we are forced to use the hand pumps that hold the liquid stuff. It is a minor annoyance to me (being a traditional bar of soap in the shower user) but not a big deal. However some things just cannot be lived without.

We are currently working on our current job along with 2 of our other new-build vessels the Seven Seas (my old boat) and the Seven Oceans. While we were out in the field one of our sub-contractors required a piece of equipment to continue some testing. The Oceans was in port at the time so it was asked if they could bring it out to the field for us so we could transfer it to ours and save around 24 hours of vessel time (which in monetary terms is quite a few hundred thousand pound).

This was no problem for the Oceans however they only had one request - we needed to trade them some tea bags. They had run out and being of a mostly British crew found they could not live without the staple British drink (Booze is not allowed on board....) We accepted this trade and returned the crane hook with a large supply of tea bags to fullfil our side of the deal.

The One with the very Quick Visitor

I got a text message from my friend AC who was on her way from Kenya to Haiti (she is a health care worker) saying she would be having a stopover in NYC. I was there on a reconnaissance to check out where we should be living and in general get a feel for the city - translation with friends on a week of good times...

I was staying in the Novotel and luckily for me during my time in Rotterdam I had gained a gold membership card which upgraded me to a suite that overlooked time square.

I got a call from AC saying she was on her way into the city from the airport so I headed back to the hotel to meet her. She arrived around midnight and I dropped her bags with the doorman before we decided to find a bar. The thing with flying from Kenya to Haiti in the middle of winter is you don't actually bring anything warm clothes with you. I lent AC my jacket and we went one block to the closest bar.

We were catching up but after 2 beers AC had run out of time and had to head back to the airport. So we walked back to the hotel, grabbed her bags and flagged down a cab. And I bid my farewell to possibly the quickest visitor to NYC I will ever have...

The one with the Unexpected and Extended Maiden Voyage

During my 2 and a half months off I was called back to the new boat due to some delays. This was it's maiden sail as a construction vessel so I wasn't as annoyed as I should have been (plus I was probably wearing quite a butt groove into the couch). A one week journey became a three week struggle to have all the systems up and running before we sent her on her merry way to Africa.

We had a number of problems with quite literally all of the systems not functioning correctly. Even one of our Thrusters decided to pack it in and had to be fitted out with new electrical wiring. The crane was doing things it was not supposed to and the A&R winch was taking a week longer than the 24 hours it was supposed to take to set up and get working.

It soon became apparent that we would be racing the clock to be home in time for Christmas. As we entered the final week we began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. This moment of joy was short lived however due to what was described on TV as "the big freeze" moved in. Yet again the UK was surprised that there was a downpour of snow during winter and it's unpreparedness became an issue as all of the Airports began to close.

I finally got off the vessel in Las Palmas (to a blazing 33 degrees) that was rather tempting to stay if it wasn't for my girl being stuck back in the UK. I ended up rolling the dice and jumping on a flight to Madrid. This was a fifty / fifty chance on being able to take the booked second flight back to London. Unfortunately I was not allowed to check any luggage all the way through due to the fact all flights to UK were cancelled.

We touched down in Madrid quite late and I was not confident of making the flight if it was even running at all. Waiting at the carousel for what seemed like an eternity I saw the next flights boarding time creep past me. When my bag eventually came through I ran up to the check in to be greeted by a very relaxed lady who was in the middle of a conversation with her collegue. She gingerly took my ticket scanned it into the computer and sent my luggage on its way. What surprised me the most was we had zero conversation so as I asked if my flight was still going she smiled said thank you and turned back to her friend.

By this time my departure time had passed so I legged it through customs towards my gate. On my way to the flight I saw a queue about one hundred metres long that led into a sign reading "Flights to be re-booked for the UK". My fear was soon eased when I got to my gate to be greeted with a line of people boarding. Once on the plane I was rather surprised to see the flight only a quarter full but certainly glad for the extra space.

After the flight I got in quite late but still had a day of shopping left to get my presents (there is only so much you can buy on the internet for your girl) and arrange a massive feast that would last us 4 days of the holidays.

I guess it was one of those times where all the cogs come together but one little hitch could have sent it all into a downward spiral to a very un-merry Christmas!

The One with the Parisian Birthday

The girl took me to Paris for my birthday for a glorious game of rugby, lots of wine and a kilo steak. We arrived to a couple of hours of light snow fall before heading out for dinner at my favourite restuarant 'Cafe Du Commerce' where I decided to tackle the gigantic kilo steak. It wasn't long before I was engulfed with the meat sweats but pushing on I dominated it into submission.

The next night was a pleasant surprise where the Wallabies once again showed what they are capable of by destroying the 6 Nation champions (59-16) in a display of form they surely need to carry over next year to be any hope of lifting Bill.

The One from the Canyon of the Crescent Moon

"Da na na naaaa...... da na naaaaa"

The whole way down the valley I had the Indy tune bouncing throughout my head. It was inspiring to come across such a magnificent rock carving that is the Treasury. Unfortunately only a penitent man shall pass and I was unable enter but I figured that it was for the best - the grails powers cannot be taken past the sacred seal...

The One from the Dunes

The girl and I headed for our middle eastern expedition. Our first stop was in Dubai where the girl was unfortunately working. This enabled me to stay in the hotel pool during the day to frequent the in-pool bar for some delicious cocktails. After a couple of days the girl had finished her wheeling and dealing so we headed to visit one of my mates from school in Qatar.

It was rather amusing to arrive to Doha amongst a bunch of sheets and tea towels in my shorts and pluggers but it was good to see the Mack was picking us up in the same attire.

The Mack took us out for possibly the only thing to do in Doha - cruise the dunes. We trekked our way to the inland sea. It was actually on the border of Qatar and Saudi Arabia so in essence we were about a 500m swim from a very painful death. It was crazy to see the locals head down some of the freakishly steep dunes sideways before righting themselves to drive off at the bottom.

We went for a local meal where I was able to sample some delicious 'baby camel'. After we went to a hotel to devour some cocktails - interesting you have to take a passport to prove you are not from the country to be able to booze it. It is safe to say we devoured a reasonable quantity, including a number of very strong rums prepared by the Mack on our arrival home, before my memory dims - although I woke up the next day around midday still very drunk to the sound of the Macks 2 year old daughter berating him, "Bad Daddy!" And the hangover I got later that afternoon I was inclined to agree!

The One with the Cuter Nephew

I had decided not to rush back to Sydney for the birth of Kai because (what I told everyone was) of offshore commitments and the fact he might be late (how right I was). The real reasons were that I figured all babies are ugly when they are born and really need to grow into their skin and who remembers anything after the birth – everyone is excited about the new baby and I don’t get all the fuss I deserve.

I can now assure you he has shed the unwanted ugly new born syndrome and seems to be a little cutie. Time will tell if he has the ability to grow the chick magnet features his uncle paraded around for so many years but the force is strong with this one so I have high expectations. So in light of all of this I best arrange my travel plans back to Sydney to commence his seduction to the dark side....

The One from the back deck

Currently being stuck working out in a container on the back of my new boat (here is the view from my desk) I have come to appreciate the simple pleasures of my soon to be ready office - including a very good stereo system. It is in the last 6 weeks of construction before handover and we are not allowed into the accommodation for another 3 weeks. This is ok because I have been put up in a decent hotel and all my meals are paid for up front (as opposed to having to expense them and claim them back later which as anyone else who has to do this knows – blows immensely).

Anyone who works with me probably knows how much I need my music on to be able to be productive. Usually in the London office I have my very comfortable head phones to cut out the office banter and zero me in on my work. Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of my headphones out here so I have just been playing the music through my laptop speakers. They are very ordinary and I have decided to compile a list of tracks that should never be played this way:

Hail Hail – Pearl Jam
Plush – Stone Temple Pilots
Comfort Me – Pacifier
Anything by Faith No More

I must say however that Orbital and Chemical Brothers sound particularly good!

The One on the New Boat

I have arrived in Holland for the final stages of the fitout of the new boat I am working on. I moved into this new role for a couple of reasons - to be able to move to New York with the girl (no need to elaborate on this opportunity) and also to have some equal time off (I am sick of cancelling holidays or leaving them early because of changes to the schedule).

I am liking the Netherlands because I don't pay Norwegian prices for beer. The food is awful and it is raining but I as long as I am not getting over charged for booze it is ok...