31 – Quickie #1

On August 26, I went to the topmost point on one of our 10-story STS cranes.  Here are some random photos from that sunset trip.  (Click on the photo for the full-size version.)

My shadow?  At the tip-top highest point.



Looking down the boom.  See the boom on my neighbor crane?



Long way down ....



Perspective on the King Abdullah Port



At the top of the superstructure.

Other quickie photo snaps ...

Photo from the opposite end of the berthing basin.  The preceding photo was taken from the top of the tallest crane in the background right.  This project is BIG.



Got a tour!

The Lamnalco Blackbird is our tug; the contractor has five of his own for moving the barges and dredges around.  One day last week, the tug's engineer grabbed me and asked if I could get a fitting welded for him -- it had broken during testing.  I asked the Chinese crane guys, and they welded it in 10 minutes.  The engineer was so thankful, he gave me a 20-minute tour of the boat and invited me to dinner with the crew.  Chicken curry (they are all Indian) with a very vinegary salad and basmati rice.  Delicious!  No surprise that I ate a bunch, but the real surprise is that the crew ate everything with their fingers!





BIG submersible pump

You place a submersible pump into the water you want to pump out of a hole -- you submerse it into the problem and it works underwater.  This one is almost as big as Hud the Stud; the cage at the bottom keeps large debris from getting sucked into the pump and damaging its internals.  It has been at the bottom of a 20-foot hole for about a week, did a good job, and is being rewarded by its nice suntanning spot at the side of the road.

The photos below show the big hole, after a 3-foot layer of concrete was poured, and a 1-foot layer of gravel was dumped on top of the concrete.

The dust is unbelievable.  The photos below show only a small dust cloud, since it's only a small machine disturbing the earth.  The Saudis claim that their dust can be found on every continent in the world, and that's an easy boast to believe. 

When you fill up your car with gas -- at 50 cents per gallon -- you automatically get a box of Kleenex.  After seeing the dust for a few weeks, I now understand how useful Kleenex can be.

There are guys in that dust cloud, prepared to spread the
sand into the newly-placed paving bricks.




Can you see his outline just left of the tractor?