Some of my best friends are black...(listed)...

Right, let's clear something up straight of the bat, most offshore workers do not get paid 'Superstar' wages.
In fact, quite a few guys (and girls) in the industry are merely getting a reasonable living wage.  This is even more true should you have the misfortune to work on an ad hoc basis.   Time and again I hear (and read) this argument on Facebook and alike when the touchy subject of Helicopter travel crops up, as if seeking to earn a decent living and wishing to be as safe as possible are somehow mutually exclusive.

Honestly, there will be many people working around the North Sea who work far fewer hours than myself and receive a comparable wage, from Camp Bosses to time-served Stewards and senior chefs.  These guys (and girls) are the life blood of the industry but hearing how much time off a regular worker on board a rig has had it tends to grate rather!

This 'Superstar' wage argument has been trotted out with alarming regularity as the issue of chopper safety has been raised to the forefront of 'Offshore Chit Chat'.  While there certainly was some truth to it in days gone by, it simply no longer holds up to close examination.  Don't get me wrong, no one that I know is struggling to get along and we all feel grateful to be in a job but nowadays the average worker will receive about as much as a capable High Street shop manager.

Perhaps the worst offenders for perpetuating this bending of the truth are the ones who usually start off with, 'I worked offshore for 20 years...' although whether are not that is actually true is also up for debate! But the reality is this,
The money is different to then...
The conditions are different to then...
The safety expectations are different to then...
It simply isn't like what it used to be, GET OVER IT GRANDAD!!!

Sometimes it's like being lectured on smoking by an ex-smoker or someone fresh out of re-hab advising you on the best way to 'skin up'...

We live and work in a completely different industry and environment from even as recently as 10 years ago and cannot be judged on past standards.

PS Let's leave the chopper investigators to do their investigation and stop trying to second guess the outcome (or even worse, spread lies and rumour like confetti)

This isn't the sort of weather we have at the moment but it's the sort I've had in the past!!

Neil Hannon Rocks!!