Mendip, you are so right about the food over here. Was in Trondheim yesterday and was amazed at some of the food Norwegians eat,not healthy at all.
Mendip, you are so right about the food over here. Was in Trondheim yesterday and was amazed at some of the food Norwegians eat,not healthy at all.
This trip will be at least 6 weeks... but if they have work for me I'll probably stay longer, A lot will depend on the Covid situation mid September and whether it's possible to get back home.
Strangely the lack of alcohol is a good point for me. I'm sure I drink more than is healthy when I'm home, pretty much every day to be honest, and a few weeks with no booze has to be good, and also reminds me that I can do it no problem. There is zero tolerance to alcohol and drugs offshore and the ever present possibility of random testing. I don't even bother going ashore during port calls any more... like driving these days I find it easier not to touch any alcohol at all. It's surprising but once in the work environment I don't even think about it.
Good advice, thanks HW I'll do that. Getting stuff like that done in Thailand is easy and cheap. I've had more shoes than I can remember fall apart on flights, at airports and on the rare occasion I go out somewhere posh. At my daughter's 'graduation ceremony' (from Kindergarten to Primary!!! ) I was sitting at the bar with a few well to do Korat parents and the sole of one of my black funeral shoes just fell off with a clunk... I'd only worn them once before at my dad's funeral. That was embarrassing... had to spend the rest of the night with just the upper flapping around on the top of my foot.
There speaks a very well organised man!
Where's me fusking frigate ?
(btw, do you know of the Siamese Algae Eater Care Guide: Size, Tank Mates and More... - Fishkeeping World )
^ We're still looking for your frigate Helge, you'll be the first to know when we find it.... honest!
And no, I wasn't aware of that site... I'll have a look when I get time. My fish haven't been on my mind lately, in fact Isaan feels a world away.
By the way, I was thinking of you at dinner tonight...
The seagulls are taking over my helideck - it was mobbed this afternoon...
And it looks like the skipper's getting pissed off with them as well! I only did 45 minutes today and had to finish early...
Buggers... they'll be back!
And meanwhile the ROV just keeps on going... we're surveying a route for a 240km long pipeline now, to export gas from the new Wisting Field. Plenty of scope to find Helge's frigate!
And dinner tonight...
Come rain or shine, worldwide contagion or exploding ports, if you're on a Norwegian boat Thursday night is kumla night. A west coast of Norway speciality... doughballs, potatoes, mashed swede, pork sausage and my favourite bit... salted and cured mutton. I actually quite like it... but a bit heavy for breakfast! Only half a potato and half a doughball for me and I declined the traditional covering of bacon fat.
Last edited by Mendip; 07-08-2020 at 12:37 AM.
Would it be not possible to tow a small platform craft for the seagulls to land on? Maybe place some lure on it?
Keep your helideck clean........
That'll just encourage them to bring their friends!
^ Yeah... I think the seagulls will go where they like...
We're having absolutely amazing weather for the Barents Sea... about 150km north of Norway.
These were taken at 12:30 am facing different directions.
There's a trainee onboard who's been feeling a bit queasy with the swell (what swell!)... she has a real shock coming.
^ fantastic shots, especially the last one.
Oldest gag in the book of course but tell her you know a sure-fire way to stop sea sickness, sit under a tree
Have you also found that girls are way more likely to get sea sick then men? One thing's for sure, is if someone who's never been to sea thinks they'll get sick onboard they normally will.
^ I had another suggestion in mind to cure seasickness... but it was inappropriate and I would have probably lost my job. You gotta remember where you are at times!
Yes, the girls do seem much more susceptible to seasickness. Our trainee should be lucky... she gets off at next Wednesday's crew change and the forecast is more of the same until then.
I've settled nicely into my groundhog day routine... I like it once that happens, I like routine. The time is flying.
The seagulls are getting out of control...
I almost felt guilty...
During my walk a whale surfaced just off the boat.
But after my initial excitement...
It was just the ROV...
Every 24 hours we have to break off the survey (around 400m down) to bring the ROV to surface and back down to seabed... to measure the temperature and salinity of the water column. We need to feed the conductivity and temperature of the complete seawater profile into the hydroacoustic positioning system to keep an accurate position for the ROV. It's all about getting the most accurate speed of sound through the water column as possible.
Last edited by Mendip; 08-08-2020 at 07:21 AM.
...^so, you were certain that wasn't Godzilla rising from the depths then...
^Well it is 2020 and the way things are going, it's almost surprising it wasn't Godzilla armed with a fucking bazooka and atomic bomb hand grenades.
We had a crew change in Hammerfest today, advertised as the world's most northerly town. I think that's about all it's got going for it...
It has a wonderful natural harbour, and a few views of the bay from my helideck this afternoon.
One road in... carved from solid gneiss. There's not much soil in this part of Norway.
A couple of other boats were also in. I think the black one is a fishing boat... sadly there's also whaling boats in this part of Norway. An emotive subject which many agree with on this boat I'm working on.
Another boat heading out to sea...
Oil money has transformed Hammerfest. Previously it was a poor fishing town but oil money has resulted in new development all over. The difference between the old traditional houses and the new buildings is very obvious.
The traditional wooden faced Norwegian houses.
And the ghastly new buildings. Architecture in Norway is awful and most cities look as I'd imagine Eastern bloc countries looked like during the cold war.
And if you're wondering what all the lines of fences are across the hillsides... they're barriers to stop snow avalanches during the winter.
On a nice day like today it's easy to forget how north this is and how wild the weather can get. Come November the sun will dip below the horizon and not emerge again until late January. Two months of total darkness with a couple of months of dusk either side... I wouldn't fancy that. I think Hammerfest falls into the category of, 'nice to see but thank fukk I don't live there'!
And what it's all about... the Melkøya gas terminal in the distance. The pipelines we've been working on transport the gas here from the fields offshore. The new route we've been surveying will increase the yield from the Wisting field in a few years time.
We've got delayed today and this photo was taken about 10pm. It got quite a bit darker by midnight... noticeably more so than a couple of weeks ago. The nights are drawing in!
A few years ago delays during a port call were a Godsend. The afternoon spent in a bar followed by a night shift snoozing in front of the computer. In today's world of zero tolerance and zero fun we weren't even allowed off the boat. Even if we were I wouldn't have a drink. Random tests are all too common and it's not worth losing your job over a couple of pints.
A calm sea beckons for when we eventually sail. The forecast is for 6 metre seas at the weekend which will be enough to stop us working. Probably enough to stop me eating as well after spending the year ashore.
And the gangway... in four weeks time I should be walking across that!
Covid allowing, of course... if Thailand is still so difficult to enter next month I may as well keep working, if they'll have me.
Last edited by Mendip; 13-08-2020 at 06:26 AM.
Great update Mate. Bet that Harbor is frozen solid in Winter!
The way this job's going I'll be able to let you know!
I'm a world away from Mendip in Norway,but you can feel the chill now starting to come in the middle of August in the Mornings,been 23 in the day and a big drop in the night time.
Never been in -30c before certainly going to be an experience, as off to Voss end September.
Mendip, hopefully they keep you on so we can get the Northern lights from sea,now that must be amazing.
^ Quite a few years ago I had a cable route survey job across a fjord near Trondheim, and went from around +30 degrees in Isaan to -25 degrees at the work site in one day. That was a shock to the system. Incidentally, in 30 years offshore the only flight I've ever missed enroute to work was for that job... it was January 2nd and it took over 9 hours to get from Korat to Suvarnabhumi in a taxi... Mitraparp Road was jam packed with cars returning to Bangkok after the New Year.
After the crew change we eventually started working again... just off the northern coast. I've taken heaps of pics around here already but will show a few again... just because it was such a glorious day for this part of the world. There won't be many more days like this up here, this year...
And a guy out fishing in the distance...
And another fisherman... I'd be a bit nervous out there in a boat so small. The weather can change very quickly up here.
I gave him a wave as he passed the helideck, but he completely ignored me.
This is exactly the kind of boat I want one day. I've been trying to persuade the wife to move down to the coast, maybe Rayong somewhere... or even Koh Chang. I'd be like a pig in shit with a small boat like this to go out fishing in every morning... maybe take along Coco and a couple of bottles of Leo. The wife is resisting so far... shame as I reckon my marriage would improve no end if I could spend every day fishing.
And off he heads home with his catch... lucky b@stard... apart from having the home in Hammerfest, that is.
And here I was griping about being in lockdown (sorta) on the Northern Beaches in Sydney. Thought winter here was a killer.
Far better informed having read through your thread so far this morning. Interesting read.
Having to walk around that deck for exercise most every day would maybe have me contemplating walking straight after a few weeks. Still, money needs and your daughter will keep you going. Press on, Mendip.
^ It's surprising what you do when you've got no choice... I downloaded a couple of old Bowie albums on Spotify, stuck on my headphones and was like Forrest Gump today... just kept on walking. I lost track of the time and did nearly an hour and a half going round the helideck. it was a mild 12 degrees today, I was in a t-shirt and shorts and it was very pleasant.
It's a good chance to do a lot of thinking... I don't get that opportunity very often.
But yep, my daughter is the motivator.
I understand you are involved with ROV's mate.
Am I correct and if so do you know a guy by the name of Andy Rose who also pilots and services ROVs?
^ The name doesn't ring any bells... but I have no involvement with the industry in Thailand. For a long time all my work has been Europe or West Africa.
I know Rawlins well, who used to post on here. He's also in the industry... worked on a couple of jobs together in the past.
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