Where am I now?

I've now been back at sea for just under 3 weeks and so far so good. Its been a pretty busy time as I have gone from doing the nice simple second mates job, to covering the Chief Officers role, gaining other titles such as dynamic positioning officer and helicopter landing officer as part of the package.

Work wise, we are back in the North Sea, and have spent the last few weeks working in the vicinity of Janice. Not a middle aged lady with serious looking glasses as the name might suggest, but an oil rig. Or more specifically an FPU or Floating Production Unit. Our job out here is to carry out a full inspection of the platform and all the associated sub sea structures using the 2 ROVs that we have onboard. So lots of time sitting at the DP desk with my feet up, while the ROV pilots and surveyors do their thing.

The weather has been pretty mixed, with a bit of time lost due to bad weather, and a few lovely calm days. There have even been a few good sunrises, one of which was impressive enough to make Janice look pretty.

So apart from sitting around with my feet up, I have also had to get to grips with the job of helicopter landing officer (HLO). The HLO is responsible for running the helideck team for any helicopter landings. As such I oversee all aspects of the operation from getting the helideck ready, arranging and briefing the team, and talking to the helicopter pilots. So no pressure or anything then, and thats before we take into account trying to organise the loading and unloading of the helicopter under noisy turning rotors.
This week has seen 2 helicopters coming to the ship. Chopper 1 was a nice easy introduction to the HLO job, as it was 1 passenger arriving and 1 leaving. It all went quite well but I did mess up, and committed the truely unforgivable mistake of not giving the piots their packed lunches!
Chopper 2 was the real test, with 9 people coming and going together with all their associated bags. This also went smoothly, and I even remembered the packed lunches! Fingers crossed there won't be any more helicopters due for a long time, as standing under rotor blades on a moving helideck isn't exactly my idea of a fun afternoon.

I'm the one in red, standing around while the lads do a fine job unloading the bags.


So, the good intentions that I'm full of.....
New years resolutions normally last till about lunch time, so I'm doing pretty well on my back to sea intentions. After lots of hunting I have finally located the gym, and as a result of peer pressure I have agreed to do a 10km leg of the Stanley Marathon in March. So I'm actually spending some of my time trying to get fit. The aim for the next few months is to cover the 1500km from Lands End to John O Groats, by rowing, running and cycling. So far I'm about 200km in, so a reasonable start. Will it continue.... Your guess is as good as mine, but at least the intention is there.

Ok, so as usual I am running at least a month behind on the blog. But I have a more than valid excuse. I have been on leave, which has been a very hard month of lying in the sun, drinking and eating to excess and even the odd bit of sailing.

So rewind a month, and after lots of debate the crew change was finally scheduled to happen by helicopter. To say I wasn't overly keen on the idea was a bit of an understatement. Any mode of transport where you have to wear a full survival suit, lifejacket and rebreather just to be able to get onboard isn't exactly my idea of a nice day trip. Add to this that the weather that had been great for the previous month was finally beginning to deteriorate, and things weren't looking the best.

But the magic day finally arrived, and after a few hours delay while the helicopter waited in Aberdeen for thunder and lightening storms to clear, we were finally off. But of course things weren't quite that simple. We boarded the helicopter, and were immediately told that the weather had deteriorated, so we were going to land on the Gryphon platform and await better conditions. So leg 1 was a 2 minute hop. Then we all disembarked for a 45 minute wait before we could continue on our way. This time with the pilot explaining that we may make it to Aberdeen, but if not, we would land at Wick or Peterhead and wait once more. So why exactly I'm smiling in the next picture is a total mystery.

Now I remember, I had just realised that I was on my way to Spain for a month.

After a fortunately uneventful flight we landed in Aberdeen in the early afternoon, and I then had an onward flight to Birmingham where I spent the night catching up with my family before carrying onto Spain the following morning.
So for the last month I have been relaxing in the sunshine, with a steady stream of friends to keep me company, and help me justify why the recycling bag is always so full!
Not that it is all lying in the sun, drinking gin and reading books. I did manage a day of culture when Hannah and Kirsty were over, with a visit to Cartagena. The view below is of the newly renovated ampitheatre, which I have watched slowly emerge from the ground over the last few years, and is now completed.

And of course I managed to get Fintail out for a few good sails, and even a bit of swimming. Although jumping in the water at lunch time when it is your own boat looses the magic a bit, as you instantly want to grab a brush and start cleaning the sides.

So while I was busy with my scrubbing brush, I let Kirsty practice her diving skills.

Then of course, no visit to see me is complete without the mud. This time the modelling is done by Hannah and Kirsty. There was of course the normal picture of all 3 of use with beer cans in hand, but I have exercised my rights as editor, as it really wasn't a good photo.

And the final shot of the leave is of Sophie and Jeremy relaxing in the swimming pool.

So a very short leave, but very busy and very good fun.

I returned to the UK on Sunday, and after 2 nights waiting for the ship in a very nice hotel suite in Aberdeen, I finally rejoined in Peterhead on Tuesday. So back to work, but all change as I am sailing as Chief Officer for at least the first part of the trip. So a bigger cabin, a bigger work load and more responsibility to go with it. Also a very steep learning curve, but so far so good.