Well,
Thats it just about over now..I shall write more when time allows...hope you enjoyed reading it.
Thanks

Day..God knows..
2000

Avast and bejasus me hearties...
Nearing Ireland we are, the engines are broke and we all want to get off to our homes and loved ones, soon enough I suspect..anyway, the job looks jinxed from the start..never mind, time will tell...Spain, here I come!!!
Another question for those who may be interested....

Rules of the road........"white over red"....means.??????????????
Now there is a seriously good reward for ANYONE(well nearly anyone!!) who gets this!!!...
Nite nite, more in the forenoon.....

1049

Well, all pretty much the same as it was, bloody boring now...just us, a bunch of tugs and the sea.......can't write anymore about whats to eat and stuff like that so I'll have to think of something else...we are now not too far from Kinsale head, once there we have got to go to 7 heads...now theres a name to conjure with!!
Once there we have to start to run anchors, a load of them..ten I think, this takes quite a while, then, the upman begins..usually a load of 'Servicce hands' followed by oncoming rig crew, these change out with the crew that has come down from Invergordon..of which I am one.
Right, bacon roll time..

2052

Evening.....

Ok, a question....where on an old vessel would you expect to see 'the main course'....a major prize for whoever gets this!!
Thats it...nite all...

1619....

"Water ,water everywhere and all the boards did shrink,
Water, water everywher nor any drop to drink"

This passage is taking its toll...we have run out of juice for the dispensing machine!! First to go was the orange the other day, and now finally the lemon has gone...this means that the machine is filled with WATER!!!!..Ye gods, we can't drink that!!!..To paraphrase some famous guy whose name I forget(had a large nose though)..water?, fish F**k in it..........so no way am I drinking that!
I do hope that scurvy doesn't set in.........
No land in any direction, I can understand how the mariners of centuries ago were struck with fear of entering into the unknown on their long sea voyages with nothing but wormy biscuits and rancid meat for vittles....especially if their juice dispenser had run out as well....
Well Its time I went to the pointed end now to get some more pictures.........one more thing though...a bird landed on the rig, I saw it briefly but it was seagull sized, awkward looking shape with a round head and a long downward curving beak(bill)....don't have a clue what it was...so anyone reading this may be able to help, please do.....
Moff....

1333

Spring vegetable soup...fried Humber cod, or mince 'n tatties or something else resembling an accident was on the me and u for lunch today, also in attendance was a cold table in the 'fridge of cooked meats, salad and fruit...a variety of cheeses from around the world were sweating away undercover, illuminated by a large, hot halogen lamp and the area smelled like an Ay-rabs armpit!...Soup and fush(fish) were my preferred choice, rounded off with a shiny green apple and 5 ritz biscuits..........so that was lunch! I missed the bond shop and my Rhubarb rock or 'sports mixture, so that will have to wait until this evening...thought you may be interested was all!
Whats been going on since I was last on here?...We are drawing ever nearer to our destination although quite when we shall arrive I am not 100% sure yet...a distance to go I think!
Suns out, seas flat and all together not a bad day ....so far.

The "New boy"..Maersk Venturer fast to the bows..along with Sea lynx)Centre) and Zeus (L)

















Sunset over Ireland

Day XIV...

0903

Not a late start this morning, just too busy to get on here earlier!!
This morning finds us with about 99 nms to go , so it'll all be over soon!
There are now THREE tugs made fast to the rig..the last one came last night, she's going to take us into the seven heads gas field location, where we are going to stay for the next 60 days or so.
Another beautiful day, no land in sight in any direction though..we saw Wales in the distance yesterday and Ireland..at the same time!...
Anyhoo..here are some pics for you to have a look at. More to follow,.....also I am loading up an insurance report for you to laugh at...Laugh damn you, Laugh!!!!

My tricky question yesterday about the points of the compas......the answer wa 'boxing the compass'......no correct answers were forthcoming, so no prizes for anyone...another question will follow soon.!

2013...

Time to finish for the day, been getting stuff ready for our arrival, sometime late sunday night,early Monday morning!..It has been a truly beautiful day today outside, warm enough to wear just a T shirt....well not JUST a T shirt you understand!!!
The big anchor handling tug " Maersk Venturer" is due here at 2100 ish, so thats good for some overtime if anything is!
Just turned down a two week hitch in Denmark today, one of the agencies called me up and made me the offer...cant do it I am afraid.......also turned down a trip in the Gulf of Mexico on a barge.....money was good but the job was short, so again no go!!
Thats about it from me this evening, time to go below, shower and relax for the night. I shall write more tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to get some more pictures onto the site.
A question , once again ...."what is the reciting of ALL the points of a compass known as?"
Ha!! Now that'll slow some of you down I wager!..The prize, should I decide to give one will be the same as the previous prize!
Bye for now.

Day XIII......Unlucky for some!

0950

Thirteen day afloat now and still heading towards Seven heads....just passing the town of Wicklow on our port side, can just see the town in the far distance, it's a beautiful, clear day, not a cloud in the sky.
As we get closer to our destination, more starts to happen...a BIG tug , the Maersk Venturer is coming out tonight, due 2200 ish and she is our anchor 'layer' if you will...the anchors at our destination are already in place on the seabed, attached to these are cables with a buoy atop them floating on the seas surface. We pass out a big 75mm wire rope to the tug, she then takes it out to the buoy, connects it to the anchor cable and then tension is put onto the anchors something like 80 tonnes, this keep us in position....there are 10 anchors, all have what are known as 'piggy- backs'. A piggy-back is another anchor connected to the first anchor, this increases the 'grip' if you like of the anchor on the sea floor. his all takes ages and the winches onboard mean that few of us get any sleep due to the noise....still c'est la vie.
OK, remember the helicopter that came to see us last week, a photograph has been sent from Stornoway coastguard of the tow, here it is.

1831

Well, here I am ..still!

After three...one , two..."In Dublin's fair city , where the girls are so pretty, I first cast my eyes on sweet Molly Malone"..etc.....yep, you've guessed it...Dublin is coming into view out of my porthole...looking forward to spending some time and easily earned loot there shortly I can tell you!
The day is still grey and insipid, a very watery sort of light and mist on the horizon..the glass is dropping like a stone so bad stuff on its way I reckon....
Been talking to the helicopter company today, looking forward to seeing what next week brings for getting me off here and back to the UK!
Bits and pieces to do when I am back but will have some quality time before I go back offshore....
In the meantime this is the last entry for today....and btw the answer to the question was......wait for it..'Cap'n Flint.......one lucky winner ..but sadly no prize yet!
Ok, as they say in Russia...Mossgo...or in Ethiopia...Abbyssinia...or Iceland...Rejykavik!(?)
More tomorrow, and a terrific foto if I can upload it.

1521

Now I know how the ancient mariner must have felt......it's proving a long trip this one. My 3 week hitch is up tomorrow and I have the prospect of more time still to do! Hey, so what I am being paid fairly well for it!!
It is a little misty now, clouded over and not looking too good at all, the sea is calm but the foreccast isn't too good for the next day or two and the last thing I want are any delays!
No pictures yet but hope to have them on here later on today.
Another question for you .......
What was the name of Long John Silvers parrot in the tome, Treasure Island?
Teabreak again so I am outta here again.
More after 4.

Tuesday 26th April
Day......Cant remember...XII I think!!

Any old how, I have been away as communications in all forms have been out, despite my best efforts...but they are back for the time being as long as we maintain this heading....so whats been happening I hear you all cry. Not a lot really.
We have voyaged past Tiree, skirted the Isle of Mull, awoke yesterday9?) morning to find and the north of the Republic in view on the starboard side..we followed the North channel south'ards and were, with the tide making 7.2 knots!!!! Almost went water skiing...not!
Last evening we passed the entrance tio whatever Lough Belfast is on and this morning, a beautiful day, the Isle of Man is on out port side and the mountains of Morn(e)..spelling help please are on t'other side. Weather...its crisp and clear today, blue skies and calm seas again..I think that we have been lucky so far with it all.
Finished painting the Radio room with the only 1" brush onboard...given up with about 70% of it done...can't be arsed any more..concentrating on other things now.
I canr remember whether I gave you the answer to the question the other day...anyway here it is......all of those things bring bad luck to a ship or vessel if mentioned(that's what the old fishermen reckoned)...Birds in any form are not allowed onboard hence the safety matches..."SWAN vestas"...picture of a Swan and they didnt like it.
Another thing that you find a lot of Seafarers did and still do is when they eat a boiled eggy-weg, they smash the shells ..another superstition.....in fact there is a rhyme that goes something like this.

"Never leave your eggshells unbroken in their cup
Think of us poor Sailors and always smash them up,
For Witches come and find them, and sail them out to sea,
And make a lot of misery for Mariners like me"

Right, no more time to sit here, coffee and a tab nab are calling...pictures soon of this Homeric voyage................getiing pi**sed of with teh journey now...looking for some 'home comforts'!

terSunday 23rd April - St Georges Day

0707

Kicking off with the weather today, it was clear and bright when I came up to the radioroom very fresh wind from the west, then, out of knowhere across the 'Minch'(?) I could see a white wall of rain approaching at great speed and it seemed to be pushing a bitterly cold wind ahead of it and the sea had gone the colour of gunmetal....I followed its progress across the water until it was maybe 20 feet away, then dodged inside as it struck...it lasted no more than 2 minutes and then it was gone , all was calm again, and as I write, the sun is out and the sea has taken on its familiar blue/green hue.
We have got the Island of Tiree on our starboard side and as far as I can see there is nothing but "green" to our port.
I am still busy painting and trying to get the radioroom shipshape for our forthcoming contract with Island Oil and Gas.
Better go as we are executing a turn to port that may prove the downfall of our communications!

Day VII

1313

What a change in the weather we have had whilst I have been below snoring and farting my way through the night...awoke early and felt the rig rolling slightly, bacon roll and paperwork in hand, I opened the watertight door onto the maindeck to find it raining and blowing a hooley..the wind is so strong it is beating the waves flat...got to be 35 - 45 knots at the moment!
That apart I am amazed that the communications are still working, the angle to the satellite must be almost critical now and still I can access the internet etc.....
Jockinese Grand National today so the Assistant Crane Op is running a sweep, £5 a ticket with all to the first three.....had a go and picked a horse that after today you will probably be able to buy from the dog food section of Tesco's!
Well thats all I have, we have left Skye in our wake, and are abeam some place I have never heard of...will find out more later on.
Sometimes, just rarely does the thought of going out for a beer cross my mind when I am offshore( It's totally dry out here) and right now is one of those times......it'll soon pass.
Ok, I'm off like a herd of turtles........more later on.