Dubai Power Boat Racing

This weekend the power boat racing started in Dubai, and the event will go on until the 2nd of December. Yesterday we had reserved a table at the Baratsi Yatch Club to experience the speed boat battle. We headed over to the Yatch Club at 1200 to get some good seats.


At first we were only the Norwegian deligation (2 people!), but as the day went by more and more people came and joined the table.

First Rachel and Ryno (to my left) joined us right before the racing started, then 3 of Rachels' Emirates air hostess friends also wanted to join our champagne brunch.

It is probably needless to say that the setting and the ambient wat absolutely fantastic!

The Norwegians enjoing life!

One of the Norwegian Power Boats comming in to shore after the first trial laps.

Probably the best day in Dubai so far :D

Around Jumeirah

Weather: Sunshine - as always

Temperature: 30 C

Humidity: 38%

The spectacular Burj Al Arab in day-light. Picture taken from the top of one of the water slides at the Wild Wadi water park at Jumeirah.

The Jumeirah Beach Hotel, used to be the most luxurious hotel before Burj Al Arab was created.

Me at the Jumeirah Beach park.

The 360 degrees bar - a little more quiet and relaxed than at night time.

Jens Joakim at the Wild Wadi water park

On my way to work this morning. Saying hi to everyone at home :) Have a nice day!

Katinka and Tore visiting

Katinka and Tore came to Dubai last Sunday, and are going to stay the same hotel as Christopher for a week. This monday it was once again time for testing out one of the restaurants at the Burj Al Arab hotel. Christopher had made the reservation, without knowing that the "Majlis Al Bahar" was a beach restaurant. So we entered the hotel and asked for the directions to the restaurant - and were told to go outside to get hotel-transportatio (golf charts) to the hotel beach.. This was not what we had expected - but the restaurant was absolutely brilliant. We had a grill beside the table where the chefs were bbq'ing lobster, shrimps and a variety of fish.

Attacking the food

More fancy cars outside Burj Al Arab

After dinner we went to the Souk Madinat for a stroll around the artificial canals. This area is like recreation of Venice, the ambient is relaxing and small abras are floating around in the small streams. We found a nice and cozy shisha place (a bar where they provide arabic pipes) and listned to chilled out music until bedtime:)

Simen enjoying a Shisha

The pipe is dying out, time to try to relight the Shisha. Hmm.. not very flattering :/

Birthday party Mary

Last weekend we also celebrated the birthday of one of one of the "Emirates" frinds of Ryno. We had dinner at the Irish Village, this is also an area with some fantastic restaurants and good nightlife.

The birthday child at the left, and two other air hostesses.

Finally a good norwegian "Nachspiel"!

Trouble! Simen found the Emeartes Airlines Dress - and just had to try it on..

Luckily we managed to get a taxi home in a decent time and got a good night sleep :)

Dessert rally

I just transfered som more pictures from the dessert rally last weekend. You have to be careful though, you never know what is gonna meat you beahind the next sand ridge. I would have prefered a better organization of the course. These arabs do not seem to value their lives very highly. They were riding like maniacs...

Christopher going for a jump.

A local hero going on two wheels on the high way.

A camel inspecting the car

New blog feature!

Weather: Sunshine
Temperature: 35 C
Humidity: 42 %

From now on I will try to make small video postings on my blogg once in a while - so that you back home can get a more authentic view of Dubai :D

A blue box on the right hand side will be a hyper-link where the video clips will be posted. I have never tried this before, but hope it will be functional.

I have been working the entire Sunday - and now I am going to work the rest of the night also. Everything here in Dubai is not champagne & glamour!

Beach and Dessert

Weather: Partly cloudy
Temperature: 36 C
Humidity: 40 %

Two of the main leisure activities in Dubai both involve - not surprisingly - sand. Chilling on the beach and dessert.

Today we started off with some relaxing hours at the beach. This part of the year is clearly the main tourist season, the beaches are way more crowded than earlier. Stil it is not to crowded, there is planty of space on the beach and you do not have to squeeze yourself inbetween others to be able to lay down.

The beach is goood, but for restless souls 2 hours can be enough. So when we had bbq'ed 45 min on each side and consumed some fish and chips - we headed into the dessert towards Hatta. Other people would maybe try to check up with some organized trike-companies so taht they could be sure where to go. But Christopher said that we absolutely would find some bike rental and racing area if we just kept on going towards Hatta and Oman. We all expected to find such a place just outside Dubai, but that never happened. The quote "Now I think we are very close, it must be behind next ridge!" kept on going for 45 minutes.. But finally we found a trike rental ranch, close to the border to Oman. (More pictures from the childish play with motorised vehicles will come later)

Once you get out of Dubai, this is mostly what the eye can see. There is red sand everywhere in all directions, and the distanced are huge.

Camles in the dessert, thy mostly just stair at the traffic and wonder what the h.. is going on. This is not how they remembered the dessert some years ago...

On the way back to Dubai. The "Dubaians" are very proude of the crazy hightech development of the citty, and there are posters and large billboards all over town.

The day was finnished off with some relaxing hours in the jacuzzi with some beers.

(Simen, Jens Joacim and Christopher)

A normal day at work, cont.

The poop deck is being prepared for the 4 new generator sets which will be powering the 4 new thrusters. A new engine room is created, and the generators will be lifted on board when they arrive in Dubai.

The entire deck space is used for storage of staging equipment, air compressors, containers, steel profiles and all sorts of equipment used by the workers.

My TK branded bike with front basket.

The sides of the old bridge is cut and lowered down to the pier. Currently the new modules have been hoisted onto the vessel and are being fitted to the old bridge.

When the cranes fail, the only thing you can count on is manual labour ;)

Welding of the new machine room.

A normal day at work

Weather: Sunshine
Temperature: 32 C
Huimidity: 30%

On request from my manager at home and the HR departemnt at Teekay, I am going to include some work related photos as well. I suddenly realized that I was in jeaopardy of getting deducted parts of my sallary because of to little work related activities in Dubai. I got an e-mail stating that I might have to book my "overtime compensation" as "Holiday". So this post is mainly to prove them wrong :)

Cargotank 1, port. Access to forward bowthruster room where the area is strengthened for the comming tunnel and swing-up azimuth thrusters. The arc shaped patterns on the inside of the tank are traces og the crude oil washing cannons - cleaning the cargo tanks for wax and sediments. Staging is assembled in every tank for chemical washing, grit-blasting and coating.

Manoeuvring inside the number 6 port cargo tank. In some tanks there is not wery much space left for manoeuvring, and the crude oil smell emitted from the tank walls can be horrible when the sun has been warming up the tank over the day.

Exiting the port sludge tank.

Bikes outside the Bergitta. Not allways easy to find your bike when you are going back to the office. There can be more than 300 workers on the vessel at the same time!

Golf Turnament Dubai Creek Golf and Yatch Club

Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 32 C
Humidity: 73%

Yesterday the 20th annual Marine Community Golf Tournament was held at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yatch club. Among 140 people from all kind of different marine businesses showed up to compeet this day, and more than 70 golf charts were lined up in front of the spectacular club house. We played in teams of 4, and my team consisted of:

• P. Kristensson HCP 6 Player A
• B. Monsen HCP 23 Player B
• M. Cooper HCP 26 Player C
• KB Kang HCP 28 Player D

Outside the club house before tee-off

The watch at the tee area at hole number 1, shaped like the Burj Al Arab.

My team preparing for the second fairway srike on hole number 2

Driving over the bridge at hole number 1. Some new hotels being constructed in the background. It is very rear to look anywhere at the Dubai skyline without seeing any cranes or construction work ongoing.

After the turnament all the players met up in the restaurant for a cold beer, a perfect opportunity to meet new people from the marine sector in Dubai. Later on there was a dinner buffet at the out-door restaurant. Both the service and food was fantastic, and the armenian?! stand-up entertainer really got the crowd going with piano playing and crazy sketches!

At the end of the dinner it was time for price ceremony and speeches. We had played a good round of golf (5 under par), but I must say I was pretty shocked when my name was called and we had won the entire turnament. More or less confused I approched the podium and received a 2 meter long arabian rifle in a huge frame, the entire trophy weighs about 25 kilos! The next problem was to transport it home. After some trial and error i managed to fit it transversally in the back seat of the taxi and safely get it back to the hotel.

The next big question is how I will manage to get it back to Norway - I doubt it is a good idea to carry it as hand luggage on the plane ;)