In 1975 I and several hundred other guys were building the Ninian Central production platform at Loch Kishorn.
Just prior to float-out, most of the gangways had been removed so that access on and off the rig, although still in dry-dock was not easy. Getting to/from the canteen from your work area on the rig could take 15-20 mins each way. A fair chunk of "wasted" time on a 12 hour shift with 3 breaks. The union put their foot down and everyone got off the rig for their main break but the tea breaks were covered by swinging tea urns and snacks aboard by the tower cranes. As a banksman, it was my job to get the load safely down and unhooked.
One night shift two out of four tower cranes had broken down and those still working were way too busy to deal with our grub. In order to prevent mutiny, the rig boss commanded that one of the Bell Rangers on charter from PLM picked up our grub from the canteen and slung it aboard for the hungry bears. Straight line distance less than 300 yards but probably the most expensive cuppa and bacon roll I ever had.
This photo shows the scene a few days after at float-out. We dug the biggest dry dock in the world, built the biggest oil rig in the world and at float out we had the largest hover craft (it could only float by frantically pumping compressed air into the base) and the largest moving object in the world at the time. At float out, I counted 14 helicopters in the air, which might be some sort of record for non-military, non-fly-in occasions.
