Smudger Snippets
Created | Updated Jun 23, 2004
I suppose it's because I have so much time on my hands these days, that all these memories come flooding back to me.
A Bridge Too Fast
I came here and switched on my PC, stared at the blank screen and then my mind went the same way, blank. In sheer desperation I ran all the memory cells of my brain to try and recall a memory. I went to the H2G2 page and scrolled down the list of previous ones and then I went into a stare and looked around me. Over in the far corner of this small room there is a pile of old note books and photographs that my wife has been nagging for me to sort out and put away somewhere. I leaned over and tried to pull an envelope from the bottom and, of course, the whole pile fell over.
As it did so, a small wallet of photographs slid out, as if they wanted to be found. I picked them up and started to go through them all and, as soon as I saw the first one, the memories came flooding back.
It was 1981 and I was working offshore on a big project in the Ninian Field during a cold and bitter winter. That was the very first time that this new style bridge had been used to connect the rig with the accommodation platform. These platforms, as we called them, were actually semi-submergible floating platforms which were towed out and then connected to the actual rig by means of a bridge. This was by no means ideal as a lot of man hours were lost when these platforms had to break away from the rig when one of those numerous North Sea storms would blow up. This caused many delays in production time when dealing with the already short window of opportunity as regards to weather. At times the weather would close in so quickly it caused the platform to be pulled away leaving many of the contractors trapped on the rig, or vice versa. There were times, during the peak of a contract, when you could have as many as six hundred men living on the platform while working on the rig.
So it was with this in mind that someone had invented what they called the Telescopic Bridge. This new style of bridge could survive a force ten gale and still remain connected to the rig. This all sounds very simple but is not as simple as that when you are trying to cross it. The bridge itself was made out of light alloys and was capable of twisting in both directions while at the same time extending or shortening itself by around forty feet in a few seconds. It was totally enclosed by metal netting to prevent anyone being thrown from it while crossing. This looked like a bit of over-cautious planning when the weather was calm, but soon became a necessity when the sea got rough as it could pitch that bridge in all directions at the same time and throw a man completely off it. The fact that it was about eighty feet above the sea, and that the deck was that grating type that you can see through, made crossing even more scary.
So crossing this bridge became an art form in itself, which had to be learnt very quickly by all those using it. It was like being on a very fast escalator and you had to be very precise as to when you jumped on or off it. Any mistakes could and, indeed, did cause serious injury. I was a welding inspector at the time on the project and had to be on call at all times, even out with ordinary working times. So I was crossing over to the rig numerous times in one shift whereas the rest of the workforce would only cross it twice a day, at the start or end of their shift. We all kept the old system of the Tally man - he was the person we would all hand our disc to upon arrival on the platform. This meant that they always knew exactly how many men were on the rig at any given time.
On this occasion I was coming back over to the platform around the same time as the men changed over shifts, so the bridge was busy and crowded. There was also the rule of just so many men at one time to be on the bridge. This was enforced by the tally man on the rig side and another at the opposite end. I was in the queue and noticed a few of the men were having problems getting onto the bridge. I asked one of the welders what was going on and he told me that there had been a changeover of workers that morning, meaning that these new men had never seen this type of bridge before. I had just finished saying to that welder that this was a dangerous situation, when I heard an ear piercing scream! One of the new lads had misjudged his exit from the bridge and the top part came ploughing after him catching both his feet in the process. As a registered first aid-er at that time I ran across the bridge as fast as it would allow me to give assistance.
The bridge had caught this man by his heels, tearing off on of his boots and almost one of his feet. Luckily for him he passed out with the pain which gave us time to stop the bleeding and carry him into the sick bay. A chopper was called straight away as we knew that surgery would be required to save one of his feet. By the time he came round he had been injected with a pain killer and appeared calm, although somewhat confused as he kept asking me what had happened. I explained to him as best I could as to what had occurred, saying that he had misjudged his exit from the bridge and that his working equipment had probably slowed him down. A chopper arrived some two hours later, and he was flown off back to Aberdeen hospital.
The picture, the one that brought all this back to mind? Ah! Yes, it was a picture of that very same bridge with me crossing it. One of the lads in the office saw me coming over and took it as I was jumping off.
