Holiday Experience - Hibernia
by
Sheila Maurer
It was a grey day when we left St. John's and headed north to the little village of Sunnyside Cove lying in one of Trinity Bay's rocky inlets.There were patches of snow on the roadside left over from a recent one-day blizzard. Many of the ponds (all stretches of water are called 'ponds' in Newfoundland) still had ice on them, although a few cars parked by the roadside showed that eager fishermen had decided to try their luck. The highway was bordered with fir trees - hundreds, thousands of them, as far as one could see, still dark green and brown after the long, hard winter. There were few birds to be seen. Sometimes the road wound near the sea and we could see chunks of heaving ice lining the beaches. Far out, near the horizon, white monumental icebergs floated majestically, propelled in different directions by wind and currents. Very occasionally we drove past a gas station and a few houses scattered by the roadside. But in Newfoundland the population dwells on the rocky and inhospitable coast, small settlements perch precariously on the cliff-sides facing the cold and sinister Atlantic, fishing boats drawn up on shingly beaches, all activity pausing until it would be possible to pursue the occupation the inhabitants know best: fishing.
After driving for about two hours we came to a sign directing us to Sunnyside Cove. Turning off we descended towards the sea. At this moment the fog dispersed and there was a clear view of Trinity Bay. Out of the calm sea, rising as high as the steep cliffs, rose the twin spires of the Hibernia oil rig. It looked like a structure from another world.
The steep hill led us to a pier at which a little boat was anchored, ready to convey sightseers out to Hibernia. About twenty minutes later we were on a level with this huge construction towering above us. A helicopter flew low overhead, circled the edifice, and then landed on a platform half way up the rig. Three vast cranes attached to round pillars were mounted on the upper platform. The main structure was divided into seven floors, three of which apparently house the workers. This, we were told, had been flown in from Korea in sections. We learned that many nations had helped in the construction of this immense sea-going wonder. The part of the structure that we could see was mounted on a base built to withstand ocean currents and storms. In a few weeks this extraordinary engineering colossus would be towed to the Grand Banks, ready to pump up oil which will provide some wealth to the economically strapped province of Newfoundland.
This brain-child of experts from many nations must be one of man's most spectacular engineering feats. One can only hope that this amazing construction will fulfil the hopes and dreams of its makers.