In : Sea of Fire.

[j.sabourn]

#10. Louis I totally agree with you about your remarks viz. the shipping side. I can speak from experience and you and others have seen the inadequaticies of most of the past and even today the present in some cases tonnage of these vessels.I was not there through choice believe me ,I knew the conditions ,but like others it was work or no work , even though the rewards were little better than the dole would of of been. It’s what was commonly called pride in the old language we once observed. It was a failure mainly by the government on not putting in place and enforcing the laws on general seaworthy and working conditions. Also believe it or not the shipowners of these elderly vessels by barring unions from even boarding these vessels and barring union members desperate for work.
The only vessels I saw where the owners had a bit of self respect for themselves and their crews were Harrison’s of Clyde who tried to improve conditions , but to me were forced out of the market by being undercut on the charter rates by other company’s more interested in their own bottom lines. At the back of this was the oil company’s themselves sitting in the commanding officers chair manufacturing the going price. Whenever an oil company talks about safety I find it hard to stop giggling. Before accepting jobs in that part. Of the industry and seeing these poor excuses I used to say to myself I would never finish up there, how wrong can you be ? There were some very good people on these vessels a lot of them there because of similar reasons as myself. Going back further for their plight blame the abhoration of the EU. Cheers JS.

[happy daze john in oz]

So easy for some to be wise after the event.
But how many times has such occurred that with maybe just a bit of better operating system, or more attention to detail the event may never have happened.

On too many occasions cost have been cut to keep profits up, very often at the expence of lives.

I am not inferring this was the case here, just making the point that on many occasions a better outcome could have come about.

[thomas michael]

Im even doing the same as you Fouro putting the wrong title to the person in question. Should have said Charlie Haffey. My statement as said was over 2 years after the event and Charlie’s hands were still shaking , I know what that is like as mine were during and immediately after , and the only way I could hide this was putting them in my pocket Cappy is going to spot that and say I was doing other things. . But over 2 years after the event the shakes should really not have been there. I have already committed my memories to this site and anything furtherI might say may be breaking others confidences placed with me. The last I heard from Charlie was 2 years ago but was a message passed on through a third person, and I was assured he was doing well. Keep at it Charlie if you have course to read this . Cheers John Sabourn.

hi john sabourn
i wouldnt trust a man if he told me he felt no fear . as i know he would be lying.
tom

[Fouro]

Going back to better times at Piper Alpha, had I been offered an engineering job aboard the oil rig, I would have turned it down for the simple reason that I would have never felt relaxed strapped in a seat aboard a crowded helicopter flying over a distance of 120 miles above the North Sea.
Then I ask myself, did any of the 167 poor souls who perished on the 6th July 1988 after routinely making many of these risky flights ever share the anxiety of flying by helicopter as I did.
I honestly believe every time the helicopter dropped the oil workers safely aboard the 'Haven' known to them as Piper Alpha, they all breathed sighs of relief but alas, now we all know the cause of the worst offshore disaster in history was started within their 'Haven'.

Regards from
Fouro.

[j.sabourn]

#14.. I didn’t make many helicopter flights in the uk, but did out here in Australia On to ships platforms and rigs. I think helicopter flying is the worse form of Air transport going. To be able to fly continuously you must have a valid HUET certificate. ( helicopter underwater escape techniques ) which had to be redone every 2 years. This consisted of making think it was 7 escapes from a strapped seated position in a mock up chopper underwater lying at different angles . This was a put off for some. They are noisy to fly in , getting in or out of you have to be aware of the type of helo you are in so as not to lose your head from still spinning blades. The possibility of you surviving loss of the rotors are very slim , apart from being told helicopters can also glide to a certain extent. I don’t blame you for being wary of flying in such. If you did survive a drop in the ocean out here you would have every chance of meeting Cappys ex. Miss Grey the nurse. JS.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John .
See they tagged a five and a half meter long big white, put a tracker in the stomach, don't know if that is to see where she goes or how many she eats.
Des

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Hi John .
See they tagged a five and a half meter long big white, put a tracker in the stomach, don't know if that is to see where she goes or how many she eats.
Des

[j.sabourn]

#16..In the survival at sea courses out here Des, the last one I was on had a bit of a comedian as instructor , but what he thought as funny as there were no ladies present could of been the truth.it is ;advised if in any group of people in the water that they should form a circle holding hands if possible so as to present a bigger target which is supposed to be off putting to any cruising overgrown goldfish. However he said if any females in the company and is the wrong time of the month either put her in her own group or try at. Least not to hold hands with her. This is for self preservation. JS.

[happy daze john in oz]

What amazes me is when they go out to hunt for the offending shark.

Sharks do live in the water and if we go in there we do so at our own risk.
If however they were to be on the high street yes by all means take them out, but they do not come there.

But then again we do have used car salesmen........................

[Des Taff Jenkins]

John.
You will have seen it ad-noseum, on TV news telling people not to go swimming or surfing in the early morning but that night on TV will be some brainless twit being dragged in, minus a leg or arm at daybreak.
Des

[Fouro]

This rare and interesting short video shows what employees would have experienced being oil workers on Piper Alpha.
Click on html below to watch.

https://youtu.be/EPMctEYX8LA

Fouro.