2004 Year in Review

Back to Marc Adami's Column Listing | Back to Year in Review Index

Holidays on the High Seas

While sugar-plums are dancing in your head, or dancing on your head on New Years day, there will be some folks who won’t be joining you. They will be at work. At every holiday we miss those people, friends and family, who would normally join us in the festivities. Some have died, some have moved and some are at work. In my family there has always been a tradition of good overtime pay for the holidays and a short time to celebrate. These days we are continuously reminded of the men and women of our armed forces who are fighting overseas. Of course people in uniform are serving the public good and vigilance knows no time off, so no matter what is going on in the world, war or peace, someone has to be on the lookout no matter what day it is.

In the offshore oil business there are no holidays. Often we tried to work out a schedule with our relief (if you’re at home someone else is at work) so we could split certain holidays or hope that the next year would work out better. Still, everyone seems to want the New Year’s holiday off (in the adult world inhabited by oil workers and sailors) so someone else has to work and that’s just the way it goes.

When you are at work at sea or in other remote locations you feel sorry for yourself and miss everyone at home – this is a given. My theory was that if you were going to be sad or miserable what better place than at work? At least everyone else who was with you was in the same boat (so to speak) and you could be miserable together which was “kind of” a nice feeling. Folks at home had to shop and prepare meals and clean the house and or travel and generally just “stress out” in order to ensure a good time was had by all. At work, who cares?

I’ve had some wonderful holiday meals while working. The cooks cook every day, it’s their job, they are getting paid for it and the budget is increased to make everything better for festive occasions. In Canada we ate lobster, in the North Sea we had Christmas pudding, in Brazil we had one of the most beautiful meal presentations you could imagine except it was served at midnight and everything was cold. Think about it - midnight mass, longest day of the year and hot in the southern hemisphere – it all makes sense.

On some rigs we would even take some time off during the work day to have games (cribbage, chess, trivial pursuits, darts, etc) or to give gifts. A guy from Australia was always losing his work gloves, so the Canadian crew showed him how their mother’s would tie the gloves together with a long string and pass them through the arms of their coats so they couldn’t be lost or forgotten. Bald guys would get combs, miserable/grouchy bosses would get free etiquette lessons (usually to be given by someone even grouchier or more miserable) and stuff like this. While working in the North Sea we had a crew of divers on board who were known risk takers and living experiments in the long term affects of breathing mixed gasses. One diver dressed up like the queen of England, gave the traditional Christmas speech and then kissed our hardcore man’s man boss full on the lips. It was a sight to behold and without any liquor present.

So to everyone this holiday season at home or abroad: we wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year! I’ll be helping my wife stress out over food, decorating and trying to include everyone – but we’ll be doing it together.

by Marc Adami, Guest Columnist
December 13, 2004