During the last work trip I kept a Journal of interesting events that happened. Offshore Journal:
Day One 9/18/05: The first day of this journal. Let's see how long it lasts. This is already the seventh day out on this hitch. I have been offshore here in the Bay Marchand for a while now. Although it has mostly been on the M/V Sea Cat, I find myself on the L/B Herring. We are repairing damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. There are reports that 8 satellite platforms have been knocked over. Well today we visited one of these “sideways†platform. We were able to stop a leak coming from some topside valves that were now underwater. Yesterday we repaired a leaking 4†ball valve at a platform. Two days we removed, re-routed, and replaced a riser that connects Fouchon with the offshore oil fields. This line provides about 20% of the production of the Gulf of Mexico. All of the major company's seem to use this pipeline. The last thing we did tonight was to cut a 3†power cable of a platform. We had both ends attached to our lift boat with chains. Tomorrow we will drag the ends 200 ft away from the platform where another crew will splice the ends together. Supposedly this will take 12 hours to do.
Weather can Really, Really Suck 10/04/05: This has been the four straight day of weather. Things are getting very tiring here. There is little to do stuck on a small liftboat in the middle of the gulf. You spend so many straight working days wishing for some weather. But when they get here and start piling up, you can’t wait to get back to work. This just seems like a bad vicious circle.
Allowing Everyone to get Gas from The Gulf of Mexico 10/07/05: We completed a repair on a 10-inch pipeline that another crew started. Another crew started to put two smart flanges and a short spool piece on a broken 10†pipeline. This was before the stint of weather that we had to sit through. Due to some form of bitching problem, we had to finish their work. They had already put on one smart flange and the spool piece. I was called on to put on the other smart flange on the ten-inch pipeline and attach it to the spool piece. A smart flange is a compression flange that is put over an open end of a pipeline. The pipeline end has to have a smooth, straight cut and the surface also has to be smooth. This pipeline was a low-pressure waterline that returns high salinity water back into the gulf. The repair allowed the Fouchon facilities to start to production.
Hurricane Damage 10/8/05: Today, I was able to dive on a satellite platform that fell over during one of the last two hurricanes. The storm tore the 36†kason at the mud line. It was lying completely on bottom. Surprisingly it did not have damage to the top portions of the structure. All of the grating and handrails were still intact. Which is weird since most of the normal structures have most of them missing.
Draging Pipeline Doesn't Seem Right 10/10/05: Today we dragged a 6†pipeline about a mile along the bottom of the gulf. Hurricane Rita did a number on this pipeline. It broke this pipeline and dragged the two new ends about a mile apart from each other. Two day we set around 10 lift bags on the pipeline, covering an area that was longer than 1000 ft. We lifted the pipeline so that it was mostly off the bottom of the sea and attached it to over vessel. There was a concern that we put too many liftbags on the pipe and it was going to float to the surface after it broke the suction of the mud. Luckily it didn’t and we successfully moved it back to the direction of the other end. Tomorrow we will work on dragging the other end, until it is pointing in the direction of this end. After we get that done, we will be putting a 150 to 200 foot spool piece in.
All Offshore Pipelines are N.O.R.M. 11/01/05: Today we are on weather, which is a relief. Yesterday we scarped about 500 feet of 4-inch pipe. We made two cuts and pulled the pipe of bottom in two pieces. Each piece was about 250-foot range. Also yesterday was the first time I have made depth pay in about three months. I made seven dollars. Exciting
Seeing Dolphins in the Water 11/10/05: Today was the first time I have seen dolphins while in the water. We were working in a depth of 60 feet, and I had just jumped into the water descending to a mid-water depth. Luckily the water visibility was incredible clear this mourning. It had to be well over 30ft as I could see straight through the platform. I had lowered myself down to a trash basket that was hanging off the crane. As I prepared to start lowering the bin down to the ocean bottom, three large creatures zoom by me into the platform. They were close, almost twenty feet away. I will admit that they startled me, since seeing such large animals is not a common site. But after the startle I soon realized that they weren’t a pact of vicious sharks, but a trio of dolphins. Two large dolphins with a smaller one in tow moved quickly leaving me with only as few seconds to see them. Then it was on to the bottom were I spent all of the mourning scrapping trash of the bottom of the ocean.
Swimming with Sharks 11/14/05: Today, I jumped into a group of sharks that were swimming below our ladder. After the jump, the bubbles started to clear and a school of fish appeared. The next thing I saw was a lemon-fish, which does look like a shark, but then I looked a little up and saw the big fish. A school of 8 - 10 sharks swam into view (I actually thought it was more like 15 individuals, but the next diver saw the sharks to be around 8 to 10 individuals, but the school was already started to move on.) The sharks were a dark mud color; real dark for their counter shading effect. As soon as I recognized that they were sharks, which I debated because their mouth structures made them look like huge lemon-fish. I stayed stationary on the downline watching them, frozen in a state of excitement and fear. As I was talking about the situation with the dive supervisor, the school of sharks began to circle the wagons, by doing a complete circle around me. Now I was on high alert. These 4 – 5 footers were circling around me in a tight circle that was ten-foot or less. Discovery Channel documentaries started to flash around in my head, while common sense was screaming for me to go back up to the deck where it was safe and dry. The nail that hit my panic button was when they were coming back into view from the starboard (right side), one of these massive fish turned a little tighter than the rest. It was starting to head straight to me! That was it I screamed for the tenders to get up on the divers hose. I turned around to hit the ladder, with thoughts of this shark chomping down onto my back. I hit the ladder hoping to shot straight up like a fast rocket, but atlas nothing ever goes as plan in a panic rush. My hose hits the bottom of the ladder and I’m at an allstop. I have to drop down a rung or two and un-foul myself from this situation. I realize that these extra seconds would be my downfall if this was an actual savage attack, but hell I’m still hauling my ass up the ladder. This is going to be a good fish story, so I got to finish with the correct ending. So I hit the deck and the adrenaline is flowing, the story is being told, and the jabs are sent back at you. So as the excitement starts to die down, it is decided that this time I will stick my head down to see if they are still roaming around. It has only been around five minutes, but I slow descend down the ladder, into the flesh tearing waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I realize that to actually look down, I am going to submerge most of my body into the water. I don’t know about you but I can’t flip a 45lb dive helmet upside down. So here I am at the waterline, hanging on a ladder. I curl up into as much of a ball as I can, because I remember someone, somewhere mention that was what to do in shark infest water. But it was as much of instinct as it was a thought, who wants a limb hanging out there for something to take a nibble of. I get my head down below the water, and start to glance around, … nothing. I hit the downline, and descend at a blistering pace. My ears are trying to keep up, but they aren’t and the pain is starting to build. I hit bottom at the bone crushing depth of 57 feet. Nothing followed me; well nothing is visible in the 2ft of murky visibility. I catch the fear and excitement of the sharks and stuff it down inside; there is work to be done. I go ahead and do my dive, which is scrapping trash of the bottom of the sea.
The Long Journey Home 11/15/05: The surf started to pick up today because of a cold making it way across the country. Another diver got scared in the water, due to some thing he thought was large giving him a nudge. See the jabs come from everyone out here in the gulf. The good thing about today is that I am heading in tonight, although I will not see home until tomorrow mourning. It is good to be off the sea. The last couple of days has been rough. This last trip was a 21-day adventure.
Ubi