The good old days. Fact or deluded old men ?

[ROVSKI]

I for one think the ROV industry was a lot more fun and a lot more profitable when I started 16 years ago. I would love to hear some of the stories of parties and money that the old bulls have to share. Think of this thread as a place to brag and share your half forgotten memories.

I will always look back to the Cable and Wifeless days as the time of my life. Saved for a house cash after five years of seeing the world, meeting the women of the world, dressing up in black and whites for G and Ts and tab nabs at the officers bar to get warmed up for near silver service at dinner. Reading the menu and ordering a bottle of wine to tide us through until we were served fantastic food at our table. Getting T shirts made up of all the ports we visited (partied in) during our trip. The party chief looking at the best place to party when deciding which port to shelter from the storm. Playing deck golf and have a few drinks on the fore deck when the weather was good. Getting brown envelopes with 600 quid in it (= to 3 dayrates) with the money they saved on the full economy fare on the way home as we bar b q d on the bridge deck. Getting home and trying to talk the girlfriend out of going on holidays or going out for a luxury meal when I got back because I had enough of that at work.
Lots of us have time on our hands these days, please share and give us a smile. 🙄 😳 😀

[dandydon]

BT Marine n Cable n Wifeless, Gin Club n Hoors, Green Shutters n Gilly, 3 wives later and nae a pot to piss in but how much fun was it!!!!!

[ROVSKI]

Dandydon, Ahh the green shutters. Three x wives. Did her indoors find out about your other wives you kept at work. BT marine boys rocked. They really knew how to party and earn a living. How much extra pay did you guys get for giving a handover at the end of your shift ?

I just want the old bears to give some historical reference to the current pay and conditions situation the newer ones say is good now and are so willing to sacrifice.

I know it sounds like bragging when the old bears say I have this much money, I don’t need to work too much blah blah blah. The older generation are not smarter than the newer one, the just earnt enough to make a difference during the good old days.

With the wages people get today, they can only afford one x wife. Having three x wives shows everybody how much worse off we are today.

Come on Scott B, I know you have some stories to share.

[Scott Beveridge]

I’m composing my thoughts…. a lot of grey in the grey matter….

[ROVSKI]

In the good old days a contractor got a significant premium over those on wages working for the same company, this was to compensate for the lack of: security of regular work, pension / share schemes, training, sick leave and workers compensation that was offered to the signed up company men. Where do contractors find themselves today, unemployed or scrambling over each other to get a job at lower rates than the salaried guys.

[Scott Beveridge]

Right…. the good stuff and life: chocolate covered truffles, Dom, champagne brunches that turn into dinner(supper or tea), after long job – walk into a BKK massage parlor (5 floors) and not see daylight for 4 days, closing the bars in daylight and re-opening them in 6 hrs., US$1,000 nights out in S’pore, 500GBP nights out in London, 200GBP nights out in BKK, trying to figure out which were the billy boys (katoies) from the stunning girls in Asia when yur pissed, trying to find good Guinness, and much more….

The jobs: swimming when you want (over the side), walking down some corridors on some barges and breathing in deep and having to sit down for a giggle after a while, 32mm films!!!, all the ports one gets to visit (didn’t get enough cable jobs unfortunately), bare-back – flip flops, and shorts for PPE, back deck BBQ’s – jams – and piss ups, getting: spares, piss, pay rises and giveaway stuff (but not a relief in sight) when requested.

The pay: hmmmmm…. what can I say but, it’s not the amount that mattered, it was / is the cost of living!!!! I started out on US$28/hr. (Taylor Diving) – that was pretty good. Now, it would have to be approx. US$85/hr – minimum nett!!! or approx. US$99/hr. before tax. Isn’t it ironic that the industry we work for has had to increase our wages (pitifully I might add) due to their own greed.

[ROVSKI]

Love your work Scott and you still put enough away for a happy ending / retirement.

[Scott Beveridge]

Unfortunately, I’m still counting. I’ve got a baht Hoover for a daughter, 😆 😆

[Andy Shiers]

There was also the subsistance money that the then government allowed us to have Tax free 😀
The eight man cabins / communal showers were a Balls ache 😕
If there was an American RIG , The Red necks put on quite a bit of food though.
Didn’t think much of Kelvin Catering 😡
You were allowed to take more baggage offshore if you could carry it……………… Problem is these days The baggage handlers are weak Spineless Wimps , they cannot lift more than 10 kgs without complaining 😀

[me]

The eight man cabins / communal showers were a Balls ache

Lost
still like that some places in Asia, OK 4-6 mans cabins now

[ROVSKI]

On the Cable Retriever with Cable and Wifeless the noisiest thing in my 1 man cabin with double bed and day lounge was the bar fridge switching off and on. The worst design feature of the ship was having to walk past the bar to put your dobbie in the laundry, it was the undoing of many a man.

[Scott Beveridge]

Doobie or dolby (dawlbe or dolebee or…)

Tho’ doobie would be interesting….. 😆 😆 8)

[James McLauchlan]

Your ‘Dhobi’ is washed by a Dhobi walla in the laundry room

[Scott Beveridge]

James,

Thanks for the colloquialism …. Still like Doobie tho’….

[ROVSKI]

The eight man cabins / communal showers were a Balls ache

Was it a ball ache because there was no where to find a little private time. ?

[Author]

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