WorldWide Drilling Resource

WorldWide Drilling Resource ® is proud to be a member of these international associations. New Zealand Drillers Federation, Inc. www.nzdrillersfederation.co.nz Ontario Groundwater Association Tel: 519-245-7194 Fax: 519-245-7196 ogwa@ogwa.ca • www.ogwa.ca Australian Drilling Industry Association adia@adia.com.au British Columbia Ground Water Assn. Tel: 604-530-8934 Fax: 604-530-8934 secretary@bcgwa.org • www.bcgwa.org Alberta Water Well Drilling Association Tel: 780-386-2335 awwda@xplornet.com Atlantic Water Well Association Tel: 888-242-4440 Fax: 902-435-0089 nsgwa@ns.aliantzinc.ca • www.nsgwa.ca 41 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JANUARY 2015 Water for Life International by Tim Rasmussen What Could Possibly Go Wrong The container needed to be in Port of Seattle by noon on Friday to make the cutoff for the ship, so the loading at Bartholomew’s shop in Spokane was scheduled for 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 15. As usual, we were given two hours to load (which is not enough), but this is our tenth container, and we have learned to have as many things on pallets as we can so the loading is faster and the cargo more secure in the container. We received a call from the driver at around 7:30. He seemed confused about the route to the shop from the Interstate, but he finally arrived around 45 minutes late. There was a serious language difficulty communicating with the driver. He also had difficulty back- ing the truck up to the shop door, but we got the truck positioned and began loading. The driver did not seem to take any interest in what was being loaded. He stayed in his truck the entire time, which had not been the case with pre- vious drivers. The loading was finished at about 10:30, except for putting the all-terrain forklift into the container. We needed the driver to turn the truck around and back up to our loading dock so we could drive the forklift into the container. In trying to position the truck, the driver did not seem to understand we needed him to move the rear of the truck so it was square to the loading dock, and he would not follow our directions. Finally, we bridged the gap with an iron sheet and precariously loaded the 10,000-pound forklift. The total weight of the container was close to the 42,000-pound limit. Then, when the driver tried to pull away from the dock to close the doors, the truck would not move. He did not seem to know how to release the trailer brakes. Gary finally climbed up in the cab and made him understand he had to rev the engine to build up air pres- sure to release the brakes. After about 15 minutes, he got the truck moving, closed and sealed the doors, and left the yard for the 6-hour drive to dock in Seattle. We were concerned for our cargo, and our concern increased as the driver tried to make an impossibly sharp turn out of the driveway and nearly put the rig in the ditch. We had never had this kind of trouble on this end of a voyage, but the container was out of our hands and on its way. We received word on the following Tuesday, the container had missed the noon Friday cutoff at the port for loading on the ship. There had been no word to us, but the trucking company had rolled the booking to the next ship, which was to leave October 29. The container was unaccounted for during those days. After many e-mails, we learned the container entered the port on Monday, but there was a question about who would be responsible for the late gate fee, booking rollover fee, daily storage fee until the next ship, and the fee for this and that. At least the container was at the port, and hopefully the cargo was still intact. We do not think we should pay for this delay, but our agent will nego- tiate the responsibility for the extra fees incurred. We are anxious for our precious cargo, but as usual, we entrusted this container into the Lord’s care. We will just trust Him to take care of our pre- cious cargo and deliver it safe to our shop in Guatemala, so its contents can be used to provide clean water to reduce human suffering. This has never hap- pened on the start of the voyage, and we hope it is not a signal of trouble ahead for this container. If you would like to help, please contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-939-1941 Tim michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 ( ! ( ! !" ( $ " ( !" & )"6& &,&6"4/23 /' ",, 3*:&3 490&3 ".% 7&*()43 ".% $". #5*,% 4/ ".9 30&$*", "00,*$"4*/.3 *,'*&,% "4&2 &,, /.6&.4*/.", ".% &6&23& *2$5,"4*/. 2*,, *0& 15*0-&.4 +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 2& 3&% /2,%7*%& ( & % " ( # ' !" ! 2&8 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- ,&6"4/23 /"% 4&34 $&24*'*$"4&3 "6"*,"#,& ) # !$ ) # ' " ) # !$ ) ! " $ #$ ! ( #! $ $ " ( ! "" % ! $ " ( #" ( & " &7 3&% 15*0-&.4 6"*,"#,& 777 2&8-$'"%%&. $/-