This is the period that precedes crew change and as usual

it is a little hectic.

We have to take this seagoing vessel which is basically a work boat and turn it into a Martha Stewart showplace for the oncoming crew.

It really isn’t too bad, as generally these boats are crewed by men that know how to take care of and pick up after themselves.

I just broke out the Jimmy Dean sausage for tomorrow’s breakfast. As a general rule on the morning we get off we load up heavy on biscuits and gravy because it is generally a long day.

Sometimes (rarely) getting off is a pretty simple process. If we are fortunate enough to be between jobs and we are tied up at the company pier, the process is simple. When we wake up we park our vehicle at the bottom of the gangway and as our reliefs come aboard we hop into our rigs and drive home.

Generally we are on a job when we get relieved. It can be anywhere. If we are in New York, we generally wait for the van carrying our reliefs to show and then drive back to our rigs and take off.

Last tour we were relieved in Connecticut and took the train to Philly and grabbed a cab to the office. We arrived at the office at about 2230 and I simply sacked out in a fleabag and left in the morning.

Sometimes we have to fly either to or from work and that really is not as exciting as it sounds. Especially these days with the three-ring circus that takes place at the airports these days thanks to 9-11 and TSA.

One tip I can pass on to sailors that have to fly. Use a state issued driver’s license at the airport. Every time I have ever used a Z-card or a TWIC card as an ID I have gotten torn up by TSA. I can’t figure that one out.

TSA seems to want a state issued ID that is readily available in any college dorm for about $20 as opposed to a federal ID that requires a background investigation by the FBI.

Then again, maybe I CAN figure it out. We’re dealing with the Federal Government so therefore it is imperative that what they do makes little or no sense.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

Today is going to be a pretty busy day and I may/may not be able to post either tonight or tomorrow.

It looks like around noon I will be making a 2 hour van ride with a half-dozen people that are apt to be overtired and cranky because they will be suffering the after-effects of the usual case Channel Fever that seems to go around on the night before crew change.

We’ll see.

If all goes well I will be home for tomorrow night.



Being relieved generally makes for a long day, hence the biscuits and gravy breakfast.





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