well here we go again........Its a little different this season though and as per normal I have a little story to go with it. I had been waiting on news from the division as to what was happening and where I would be going for what seemed like an eternity this year. This mainly due to budgeting I'm sure but when I received news it made me think that know how extraordinarily lucky I am. However it was a little different, rather than receiving word from my normal mechanical trade supervisor I was told that the "BOSS" himself was to tell me what I was up to.
As normal I'm going to digress here a little. Rowdy who is now kinda infamous in many of my blogs spent a season at a place called Macquarie Island like his father before him. Many stories later a little time doing some time research and a video later this was the next place I HAD to go to.
My desire was so strong to go to this heavenly place that many of my good friends knew about it. After much thought and gain my Coxswains ticket the only way I thought I was going to be able to go to Macca, as it is also known, was going to be as a watercraft operator. Another one of my friends from the original crew that hasn't made it too much into my blog is a fella nicknamed "Snoozy" AKA Clint.
Clint understood my desire to go to Macca and made a suggestion that ultimately would open a few doors for me in many other ways that i didn't know at the time. Through Snoozy and a little networking I meet Bob who is a little bit of a Australian Antarctic Legend. I remember asking Bob "How do i learn how to drive a LARC" understanding that basically being a machine i thought that this experience would again strengthen my position in gaining a position on the Watercraft Operators pool. This pool would be one of the harder positions to gain.
Digressing a little more AGAIN a friend told me about a bloke called Ben Carlin who drove a amphibious vehicle around the world. Only took him 10 years but have a look HERE and read all about him.
Anyway back to it now........Bob put me in touch with Frank who did his apprenticeship with Bob and was now the Operations Manager of a business which happened to be on the Gold Coast called Aquaduck. After many phone calls which I'm sure annoyed Frank to no end i ended up meeting up with him and the owner Mr Cooley who's lives haven't been the same since meeting me. So I'm now happy to say I'm rather proficient in driving a 1950's LARC V and in a stronger position to join the watercraft operators pool.
Back to the phone call from the "BOSS MAN" now well i got the phone call and the word was and I'm sure at this point it was Macca but not as a Watercraft Operator but as General Trades. Now this General trades is a new thing for me as normally i go south as a Plant Operator but at the end of the day i don't really care how and what i go as.
Ive now been in Hobart for the last 3 weeks after the ship encountered a few problems returning from its last voyage. Namely being stuck in the same place in the ice for 2 weeks will do it. Anyway the time has come it is now the 11/12/13 and its a date to remember.
Today we embark on V2/3 Macquarie Island / Casey resupplies and excitement is at this point an understatement. In fact i think I'm as excited at this current time as i was when i went my first season. So this being said I'm going to sign off as I'm going to be shorty out of reception and i think Ive board you enough HOWEVER i promise the rest of the blogs from this season are not going to be anywhere as boring.
Blog you soon!!
Take Care
Michael
P.S...........“Thoughts determine what you want, actions determine what you get."
W Steven Brown
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