The Accident That Changed It All

Against all protests by the crew, and captain we were on our way to this small platform in the delta


The vessel we are on is made to take a large amount of supplies to the rigs both for their daily activities and the job that are doing, so it is not a small boat.


On the way out everyone on the incoming vessels are radioing and asking what the hell we're doing going out into this storm. We radio back what and why, all they can do is wish us well.


The seas are rushing into the channel at the sea buoy, we are not going that far only about 20mi or so, but you would think that we were 120mi. out at the size of the seas.


We make it to the platform 2 men are on watch there and writing for us, we get in place for this 10min. operation of transferring water to them. Then they in form us they do not have a crane to raise our water hose for transfer.


Whole different operation now.


They must manually lower their water line to us, we must find a way to secure the vessel to them so that we may stay in place to transfer.


We find one cleat that is good enough to tie up on, so we do.


The vessel must be maneuvered below their tag line holding the water line.


The engineer and I position ourselves at the Stern port side bit to retrieve their line, the captain will position the vessel below the tag line, we get the line, transfer the water and outta here.


Did not happen.


We are in position now,tag line being lowered, I reach out with the boat hook to catch tag line, out of no where a rogue wave, lifts the vessel up on the port side and dips violently on the starboard side, the three inch line holding the vessel snaps up from the bull works (side of the boat), catches me under my shoulder pit on my left side, heaves me in the air , across the vessel to the starboard side, like a rag doll.

I am slammed into the starboard side stacks (engine exhaust cover). The engineer is caught across the chest and neck and slammed into the stern. He starts screaming and crying, the captain is trying to take control of the vessel, people running from everywhere the whole crew now on the back deck.

The captain radios for a medic helicopter, 2 men down on the back deck. I just lay there in a kinda of daze knowing what happened but not knowing if it was real.
The captain yell at the crew to not move us that the medics were on the way. Scared, wet, cold,
dazed, thinking is this it then I die at sea.
Wake up at the sound of a helicopter, on a stretcher now being loaded up for the ride in right.
Did not happen.

The helicopter is not prepared for a two man lift, and cannot fit any stretchers inside, that helicopter leaves, one medic stays. Two hours another helicopter arrives this time we are loaded for the 2hour ride to the hospital in New Orleans.
At the hospital I am x-rayed but they x-ray the wrong side of where I got hurt, our home office guy is outside the x-ray room waiting. He tells me the engineer has died, seem his spline was crushed and it took so long to get in that he bled to death.
I break down and cry, hurting from the injury, but more so in grief, he had two little boys and I am no youngster.
They release me to return to work, but the company guy want me checked out by another doctor. I get checked out. All of ribs on my left side are broken, my ankle is broken,my right wrist is broken, the meniscus in both knees are torn, the muscles in my neck are torn, concussion, and I have broke my back in 4 places. What a miracle to just be alive I am told, I breakdown and cry, BS BS BS BS why did I live, that poor kid with babies, his family needed him much more than mine needed me.
Sorry i still cry, I don't feel like any miracle happened, i just think of that kid screaming on the back deck.
Any way i recover go back to work two years later, have a massive heart attack, they missed the bruised heart, have a quad bypass, and still live.
All i can do now is try and forget the accident in my dreams and pray that those little boys don't hate me for living instead of their daddy.