So now I can offically say that I have been offshore . . . it will be an experience that I will never forget!!
My first experience was on a semisubmersible platform which means it is a big boat/barge that can move from one fixed platform that has the wells to another (picture below). The semisubmersible I stayed on was called Semi 1. It orginially was a platform from the Netherlands but now is owned and operated by Mexico. To get to the platform you have to ride on a boat that stops at other platforms that are on the way . . . it pretty much is a glorified bus service for the water. Most everywhere else in the world you would ride in a helicopter but that is not the case in Mexico. Only the supervisors of Pemex get to ride in the helicopter on a regular basis. In all, getting to the platform means spending 2 hours waiting in a terminal (reminds me of an airport terminal), 6+ hours in a boat that is rocking this way and that acting like a taxis going from one platform to another, a ride holding onto this basket while a crane lifts you up 5 stories (pictured below), and of course being in the middle of no where in the Gulf of Mexico. All you can see on the horizon is other platforms and water!
I ended up doing 2 jobs in 2 different wells/platforms. There was one moment when I was 5 stories above the water on a platform, I just said wow. One of the other guys from CT asked me if I ever thought I would be out here and I said no. I still can not believe that I am doing this . . . it is crazy, I am crazy!! You look around and all you see are other platforms and water. Because of this I got to see some pretty sunsets, sunrises, and stars! Plus the crew I was with were awesome . . . they were really patient with me and helped/suffered through my spanish!! The supervisor was from Columbia and reminded me of the Columbian supervisor from Poza Rica . . . very nice and loves the Lord. He took me under his wing throughout the experience so it was nice not having to go through the boat and arrival process at the platform by myself!
Being offshore does not always mean working, when there is bad weather a lot of times you are not able to work so you are just waiting around . . . it can be pretty boring. To pass the time I studied some, watched movies on my computer, played ping pong (which I have not done in a really long time), talked with the crew of the Semi-1 (to practice my spanish), ate, and of course slept all while moving this way and that from the waves. There were around 5 other females on board out of the 150 people that were working on the platform! I lived with 2 other guys from another company and was fortunate that there was a bathroom for each room not a common bathroom for everyone which is the case for some platforms! Also the food on the platform was amazing . . . I ate better the time I was aboard then I have the whole time I have been in Mexico. So much fruit and meat and frozen yogurt!! And every Sunday they had a carne asada (cookout) outside near the helicopter pad.
In all I spent 12 days out there . . . I had to come back to earth because another engineer had to come to the job for a special tool that I am not qualified to run yet. It ended up being good timing because the night I left there were problems with our unit! I guess I was the good luck charm!!
