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As some of you may recall I posted just before Christmas that I was moving platforms after being in the first field for 21 years.
Well, I arrived on my new platform on Wednesday, although we were a couple of hours late due to weather. Since arriving the weather has been steadily getting worse and we have had no flying on thursday or friday and looking very unlikely for today and flights currently on hold.
The wind has just been a constant 65 Knots (74mph), gusting to 75 Knots (86 MPH) and the sea state is a mean 7metres with peak waves hitting 15m. The forecast is the same through to Monday at the earliest. I hope this isn't a sign for the future, but have a feeling that regular delays maybe on the horizon!
On the place itself, I can't get over the size of the accommodation module, compared to the last 5 platforms I have worked on, this place puts them to shame! Just need to try and get outside to have a proper look around the process, but the thought of battling the winds to try and look at stuff is just a waste of time.
I do like my new office, although, no window in this one  but that is compensated by having a well stocked fridge with pop and chocolate and the stairs are a killer so that helps to work it off again!
Here is a couple photo's off the net of the place:
http://trawlerphotos.co.uk/gallery/data/628/medium/DSC_0256.jpg[^]
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Politics/Pix/pictures/2013/6/16/1371390183003/Beryl-bravo-oil-and-gas-p-010.jpg[^]
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One of your stock photos has seas like a fury, which kinda bodes a bit, doesn't it! 
No window? Pity. Perhaps you could fit a large TV, connect it to your PC and display a Star Trek stars-going-by picture, complete with curtains? I would suggest a webcam linked to the outside world, but that'd probably cause a degree of seasickness... 
Never underestimate the power of stupid things in large numbers
--- Serious Sam
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I do have a large screen that has the CCTV system normal showing on it, the default image is a view across the helideck and out to sea in the background. Better than nothing.
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Purely out of interest, how noisy is it out there? I'd imagine they use pretty good sound insulation, but with the wind and waves I assume some of it gets through.
Never underestimate the power of stupid things in large numbers
--- Serious Sam
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Not bad actually.
My cabin is quiet, had great sleeps so far. Sitting in the office, other than the occassional wobble as the "biggies" come through, you would never know it rough as a rough thing out there.
Stepping outside however, that is another matter!
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Well, you wouldn't be going for any long walks after dinner anyway...
Feel sorry for the poor blokes who have to be outside working the machinery though!
Never underestimate the power of stupid things in large numbers
--- Serious Sam
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yikes - what a mutha mate - I guess that's a step 'up' huh - congrats
take care of yourself out there
'g'
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Looking at the pictures, and hearing about the current weather, I don't know whether to say "congratulations," or "deepest sympathies" !
I couldn't help but notice some hidden detail in one of the pictures; I hope you don't mind my teasing it out a bit: [^].
cheers, Bill
“But I don't want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can't help that,” said the Cat: “we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.”
“How do you know I'm mad?” said Alice.
“You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn't have come here.” Lewis Carroll
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That picture tweaking is ace! 
Flights have just been officially cancelled for the day. That's 3 days in a row now. See what tomorrow brings. Looking more like Monday. As long as the back log clears by Wednesday when I'm due off 
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I've misunderstood. I thought you were eventually on the mainland.
DaveAuld wrote: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Politics/Pix/pictures/2013/6/16/1371390183003/Beryl-bravo-oil-and-gas-p-010.jpg
Are you on the actual platform or on the model one? 
Veni, vidi, vici.
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No mainland involved! I like it out here
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Sounds like you're settling in pretty good and your new workplace looks pretty awesome.
Good luck in you new position!
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I have no sense of scale. So, looking at the second picture, exactly how far off the calm sea is the bottom of the platform? Area dimensions? # of stories?
I see a large structure in the upper left of the picture - what is it?
How many work on the platform at one time?
Charlie Gilley
<italic>You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house.
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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The lowest main deck level is 24m from the sea (this allows for a 6m clearance of the calculated 100year storm wave).
The main deck footprint occupies 64mx40m and outwith this you do have bolted on various things like the lifeboats, flare stack etc.
The two main production decks are each 10m in height (the lower levels), above this you then have the drilling facilities and the accommodation module side by side, on top of the accommodation module there is the helideck structure.
The accommodation module is 6 stories tall. The helideck is approx 220ft from sea, and the drill derrick is approx 320ft from sea to top. The water depth is approx 350ft.
There are currently 181 people working on board, but the max is 195. It total, from seabed to highest point is approx 650ft and the structure weighs in around 36,000 tonnes. It is nailed to the seabed using 33m long piles.
The structure in the background is 5 miles away and is the fields sister platform where the oil/gas is sent. It is even bigger (sketch[^]. )
Hope this helps with a feeling of scale.
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Holy crap! (Best Carson voice) I did not know that.
/ravi
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Sailing Stoned? 
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I'm not sure I would recommend that, unless it was a dingy in a pond
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This phenomenon is the tragic result of pet rock abandonment; the poor things are just trying desperately to find their way home to the formerly loving families who adopted them in the 70s and 80s, then abandoned them in the desert when the novelty wore off. They are doomed to a future of only rejection and disillusionment, as their former owners and families obviously don't want them back. It's a pitiful sight... 
Will Rogers never met me.
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Perhaps we (well...you, we have no desert round these parts) should start a Pet Rock Shelter, where families can drop off "Rocky" and "Pebbles" when they can no longer afford the sand bills, and new families can adopt the poor abandoned creatures?
I think I have the slogan: "We never melt a healthy rock down and recycle it as a lava lamp"
Never underestimate the power of stupid things in large numbers
--- Serious Sam
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I have so many rocks in my yard now that I've been trying to find new homes for them. A few thousands I've already carted off to a place called Golden Valley, which has a dire shortage, to a loving family I know there. Those lucky few are living a fulfilling life, serving as fill for gullies in the driveway caused by heavy rains. It gives them a sense of purpose, I find, and that's good for them. I'll be taking a few more bucketfuls up there today, in fact, to join the thriving colony we've established there.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Ah! I assume you have a "Mother rock" living an breeding in your yard?
Herself assures me that we had one living in the vegetable patch in the last house... 
Never underestimate the power of stupid things in large numbers
--- Serious Sam
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It could be evidence of Elvis.
This space intentionally left blank.
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I was wondering where I put that silly thing.
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