Clip
30-12-2008, 04:29 AM
I was shipwrecked on a barge while drilling off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We had a geotech drill on it, when a storm came up (real fast in 15 minutes). While trying to pull our drill steel, a helper went overboard- whom we then rescued. The waves were coming in green overtop of us, when everything below (the drill casing and rods) snapped. We then lost our drill shack, forcing us to climb the derrick. The anchors started to drag, two 250 lb'ers, and a very large 10ft across square rigger anchor salvaged off the bottom by a couple of divers and used for this job.
The tug was in the harbour with the crew passed out drunk, and not listening to our radio calls for help. The driller then bravely jumped into a Boston Whaler (unsinkable powerboat) to try and get them. The boat overturned after going only 50ft through the waves, but he drifted up against a railroad bridge pier and managed to climb up on it and eventually got the tug out to us.
We ended up jumping between the waves from the barge deck to the stern of the tug, timing the jump between the waves. The barge ended up in the surf and on the beach. A pretty wild time.
The tug was in the harbour with the crew passed out drunk, and not listening to our radio calls for help. The driller then bravely jumped into a Boston Whaler (unsinkable powerboat) to try and get them. The boat overturned after going only 50ft through the waves, but he drifted up against a railroad bridge pier and managed to climb up on it and eventually got the tug out to us.
We ended up jumping between the waves from the barge deck to the stern of the tug, timing the jump between the waves. The barge ended up in the surf and on the beach. A pretty wild time.