Storming the Beach

We're back!  Sorry about the laps in blogging; last weekend it poured so we were stuck inside which made for uninteresting blog material.  Since the last post Nick has begun working on Curtis Island.  I was interested in his commute so I asked him to take some pictures of his boat ride over and back.  He said it feels a little militaristic - everyone dressed the same in lines to board boats and buses.  When they get to the island the boat unloads directly onto the beach so he felt like he was "storming the beach".    

I'm so lucky to have such a caring and handsome husband.  Actually, this is Nick writing now - Kate wanted me to describe the routine of a normal day.  But I think it would be beneficial to first describe my project.  Gladstone is currently experiencing an industrial boom and most of that is due to utilizing a new process to extract natural gas from the earth called "Coal Seam Gas".  This is extracted from basins far inland and is piped to the coast for transport to Asia.  The raw gas is refined in the plant and is cooled past it's boiling point.  This is done because transporting liquids is more stable than doing so with gases.  The Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is then stored in large tanks to await shipment to whichever country purchased the product.  There are four of these LNG plants being built on Curtis Island.  My project, (the northern most site - Australia Pacific LNG), is a joint venture between ConocoPhillips and Origin Energy and has an estimated cost of $23 billion.  Amazingly, the general contractor on 3 of the 4 plants is Bechtel, one of the largest construction companies in the world.  They hired CBI to construct the LNG tanks on APLNG while electing to construct the containment tanks on the other projects themselves.  Although the rendering shows 3 containment tanks, only 2 are being built currently.  It surprises most people that it takes 3 years to build only two tanks but these tanks are massive and contain a lot of proprietary technology.  It should also be noted that CBI completed the design of these tanks.

My day begins at 4:00am to workout at a 24 hour gym.  I make sure to have everything laid out the night before so I get there about 4:15.  On a side note, the gym isn't very nice but it was the only one in town which had the hours that were flexible enough for my schedule.  I shower and change into the uniform after about an hour of working out.  I try to arrive at the marina around 5:30am.  There are 5 or so different ferries, carrying what I would guess is about 300 people each. Manpower is currently nowhere near peak capacity, but by the time it does ramp up, the man-camp currently being constructed on the island will be operational.  The boat leaves at 6:00am and most of the people sleep during the 45 minute ride.  People were amused when they found out I would spend so much of my day on a boat given my history with sea-sickness, but the ride is very smooth and the time passes quickly by reading.  It was surprising to find out there is currently no landing at Curtis Island - we just storm up the beach.  Waiting at the top of the hill are a dozen buses to which everyone hurries because they want to get on the first one.  However, they don't all go to the same place so it's a little hectic.  The bus I board says "CBI - Train One" - train as in LNG train.  The first buses reach the office trailers at around 7:10 and there is a safety meeting at 7:30 every morning.  At 4:15 people start packing up as the buses arrive at 4:30 to take us home.   The ferries are waiting at the beach as the buses unload, and then depart around 5:00.  I get back to my truck (or ute as the Aussies say) just before 6:00 and get home at 6:15 after making it through the gridlock of everybody leaving the parking lot.  It's a long day but most of that is due to the commute - the actual time at site goes very quickly because I've been used to working 6:30am-5:00pm since last November.

Also since the last blog post we have moved houses.  Our first house was sold so Bechtel put us in a new townhouse.  We really like our new place and have decided that the move was a blessing in disguise.  Our new home is more spacious and closer to town.  There is a cute cafe and small grocery store right outside our back door.  I will post pictures soon, just waiting on some furniture to arrive.

This weekend we caught a beautiful sunset and went to a BBQ with friends where we had the opportunity to eat kangaroo meat for the second time!  I told Nick I am starting to feel like a local.  I was riding my bike and two separate people stopped me to ask for directions.  I successfully helped one person...one out of two isn't bad!   

This is the view from our friend's home.  It is hard to see from the picture, but they have a great view of the airport as well as Mt. Larcom.  This also can give you a perspective for how hilly Gladstone is.

BBQ at Ella and Brody's.

CBI mates