Hi Dave and Peg,
[Professors Dave Carlisle and Peg Heaney]
I'm now working for myself as an independent offshore surveyor--a surveyor for hire, so to speak. My company is called Pod Six (a reference to the Sealab 2021 cartoon). A company called Tesla based in Houston, Texas has contracted with me for the next twelve months to work on the sub-sea construction vessel, Normand Clipper (photo on left). Over the next three years, the Normand Clipper will salvage eight oil platforms that were destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.
There are two aspects to the surveying operations onboard the Clipper: navigation and surveying. Navigation involves tracking objects in the water. This includes the oil platform on the sea floor, two ROVs (remotely operated vehicles, which are small subs), divers, crane wires, a dive bell for transporting the divers from the surface to the sea floor, and the Normand Clipper itself. Each of these items has a transponder attached to it so a survey can track its horizontal and vertical (depth) position in relation to the Clipper. The Clipper uses GPS (C-Nav & Trimble DGPS) to determine its position. The navigation computer screen displays all the objects in the water and is sent out to other areas of the ship such as dive control, ROV control, and the helmsman who maneuvers the ship
The surveying part of my job involves using an echoscope mounted on an ROV to make 3D images of underwater structures. The echoscope is a relatively new piece of technology (there are only 5 in the world and the US Navy has most of them) so Tesla knew they would have to train me in how to use it. They flew in an echoscope trainer from Coda, the company that manufactures them, to spend five days with us on the boat to teach us how to use it. Training went OK but we'll see how it goes when I actually have to collect and process data on my own.
Work space
My first two weeks on this project were spent mobilizing the Normand Clipper to get ready to sail while we were docked in Galveston, Texas. The mobilizing involved installing/learning software, networking computers, running computer cables in tight spaces and basically connecting all the survey instruments to where they collect data and to where they need to send data. I learned a lot about networking in that time.
Life onboard the Clipper is very nice. This boat is like a floating Hilton. The Clipper is out of Norway with a Norwegian crew. They are all blond and blue-eyed. It's like sailing with the master race. Because it's a Norwegian vessel, the Clipper's outlets are all European and they work off 220 volts instead of good old American 110. Luckily I found this out while we were still at dock so I could run out to Radio Shack and get a transformer and adapters or I wouldn't have been able to plug in anything on this trip. Another thing about working on a European vessel is the metric system. My life is completely in meters now. I survey in meters and give distances in meters. I'm no longer 5' 10" tall, I'm now 1.78 meters.
The galley is set up like a restaurant that is subcontracted to a catering service under the guidance of a Norwegian---so every meal has at least one fish option (even breakfast). The food is very good onboard with lots of options. You can eat as healthy or as unhealthy as you choose. There is a gym, a library, a place to check out DVDs and a drop-off laundry service that I absolutely love.
I work a four week on/four week off schedule. And another thing, I get on and off the boat by helicopter. How cool is that?
On a side note:
In order to learn the software on this job, I have been recording the steps needed to get the software to work in a small record book---just like we had to do in class. I must admit that when I was in school I was resistant to the log book idea but it has been instrumental in helping me to learn this software and has become one of my most useful resources. Thanks.
