My last adventure offshore I had the privilege of being on a big ship that has a crane and space for 100+ people. The ship was brand new and there were accommodations for women and the food was great. The downside of the ship was that it was new . . . meaning that all the people were new and did not know what they were doing and it lacked a lot of things to be able to do the job. This means lots of time waiting to do your job because you need the support of those people!
Other than that issue everything thing went well with the job. The jobs had a potential to go horribly wrong since we were pumping a treatment that is a lot like cement which means there is a possibility of getting stuck. After the cement job we were supposed to then run a memory logging tool and then shot guns downhole but then 3 storms arrived. Since we were on a boat we could not work because to get to the platform you have to ride on the crane. When the wind is really strong or there is big waves the crane moves too much which causes the human basket to start swinging like a pendulum. Below is a picture of the human basket! You are just holding on and riding up 3-5 stories high!!
I ended up spending 9 days doing nothing waiting to go to the platform. It was nice for a little while especially because I was getting sick but after about 3 days of doing nothing I was time to start working again. One because that is why I am there and two it helps the time go by quicker. I ended up making a schedule for those bad weather days . . . waking up at 7:30, going to the client office to hear the program for the day and have coffee/sweet bread, email the base/home, work on some work stuff, eat lunch, check in with client again, go outside and look at the ocean/practice my Spanish with whoever wants to talk, watch a movie or tv show, eat dinner, email/call the base again, watch a movie or tv show, go to sleep around 10, repeat!! All this time the ship is moving about all the time. When you eating everything is moving on the table . . . when you sleep you are moving from side to side. Thankfully I never got seasick!!
By the time we were able to work again I already had 15 days offshore (usually the limit is 14 days). Since the weather was still not perfect there were no boats to go back to Cd. del Carmen, so I worked for a couple more days. By the 18th day of being offshore I finally came down from the platform/boat by helicopter which is always a bonus!!
Here are some more pictures of the platform.
Me being a good supervisor . . . delegating what to do!!
Since being back down on earth I have just kept chugging along. I have been working in the office and trying to catch up with all the things I needed to do while offshore all the while getting more things handed to me and having to deal with problems with the units you are in charge of. All I know right now is that I am that much closer to going home!! My ticket is bought and now I am just wanting to get my permission to leave the country and re-enter since I will not be able to get my visa in time to go home. Hopefully all will go to plan!!
Oh and Feliz Cumpleaños to my favorite big sister Lizzie . . . hope you had a great one!!
