Kodiak

By James Pierpoint

Kodiak is a very believable story with some things that I have experienced. It is about a man that was going through college but then quit to join the services for adventure and then became a Navy Seal after serving a few terms he went off shore to see what that was like. Mat Grogan was an exceptional man very intelligent, tall and handsome also; he had a dog named Samson and married his girl friend Hazel. Mat got stuck in a class 1 Hurricane off shore and barely survived the ordeal when the platform he was on collapsed. From there was a settlement from a law suit and then he was able to commit to his lifelong dream. Panning for gold in Alaska. Along the way he befriends his native guide named Kuda. Then they face legend the wise old Kodiak bear that is enormous. As they try to stay alive until they can be rescued.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 12, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477115374

James Pierpoint

My name Is James Pierpoint. I am an off shore maintenance/construction superintendent. I live in a log home my wife and I built miles from a highway and a quarter mile from the back road. Kodiak was a book I started writing while I was sitting at my desk off shore while Tropical storm Earl played havoc on the gulf coast. No we did not evacuate, we stayed and rode it out for 5 days- no helicopter no boats as I watched 30 feet seas slam into the complex. There are several things in this book that I personally experienced, the storm is one of them, and the rest of the book kind of reflects me and my ambitions also. Like panning for gold in Alaska and setting up a hydro electrical dam in the creek behind my home, I have not accomplished either one yet, but my heart is there. Like Mat Grogan the main character I am a Christian and I love Jesus, my family and the outdoors, and I am always building something, oh and by the way I do have a 67-C-l0 Chevy pickup truck just like Mat.

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Copyright © 2012 by James Pierpoint.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

After settling a substantial lawsuit, a local oilfield worker sets out on a quest in the remote Alaskan wilderness to pan for gold. Not realizing the danger he faced while in the Gulf of Mexico during a hurricane was nothing compared to what he is about to face in the Alaskan wilderness. Mathew Grogan was an offshore field operator at the time of the disaster. He is a big and strong man. Mat is a God-fearing man with a girlfriend and a dog named Samson.

This is his story.

Chapter 1

The intercom rang loud early Saturday morning at six sharp, Safety meeting in the TV room! Safety meeting in the TV room! Everyone headed downstairs at a slow pace and found a seat.

The platform foreman, Howard, the man in charge of the oil field, spoke, I don’t mean to call or point anyone out because we have a few new faces out here today, and they may not be aware of how we do things around here. At 6:00 am every morning you will be dressed with your steel-toed boots on and ready to go to work. You will not be wearing Tapout shorts or Scooby-Doo underwear with flip-flops on. Do I make myself clear? All of the complex hands started laughing and looking at the new arrivals. OK, on the agenda today! We have testing on some down field wells. Carl will let you know who is going where. The seas are about two to four feet so riding the field boat and swinging off to the platform will not be an issue. The construction crew will be working on 31-D platform building an access to the top of the production separator vessel. It is hot out there, we will be in the triple digits today, so be sure to bring plenty of water, please don’t get too hot. You all have been doing an excellent job and I have no complaints, other than the Scooby-Doo underwear.

Carl, the field lead operator, rang out. Yes, I need to bring up the storm that is brewing. It just crossed the Yucatan Peninsula. It has not developed into a tropical depression yet, but you know how they act once they have reached these warm waters. Just keep an eye on it, and I am sure the office is watching this system too. Everyone sign the safety meeting form and don’t forget to do your J.S.A. Everyone headed upstairs to make lunch and get the drinks for the day. Carl’s voice came over the intercom and said, All down field production hands come to the field office. Oh! Construction hands too. Carl was looking at Mat as Mat was reading a newspaper. I want you and Mike to fly to 24-U. We need to test four of the seven wells, U-7, U-2, U 3, U-6. The field boat we have this morning is replacing Captain Tim. It went in last night for repairs. We have Mrs. Brandy now and she sits high in the water. The boat landing on Unicorn is very low so swinging off and on may be risky. I am sure you all would not have much trouble but I would rather be safe than sorry.

No problem, Mat’s confident deep voice rang out, as he grabbed his backpack. I would rather fly any day. Then Mat and Mike made their way to the dispatcher’s office to get the first flight of the morning. As they lifted off, they climbed about one thousand feet. Mat asked the pilot Rob, How high do you think those clouds are, Rob?

Well, let’s find out. Just then the pilot shot straight up like a bullet.

Mike was in the backseat; it was only his first year offshore, and he has never flown before he came to the gulf. Woooeeeeeee! he cried. Then he triggered the onboard microphone and said, Come on, guys, I am not afraid of heights but I just about wet myself.

Rob looked at his altimeter. It looks like the clouds are about three thousand feet.

Cool! Mat exclaimed with a teasing smirk of a grin.

Rob the pilot came on the mike. This is just between us. I am not supposed to be maneuvering like this out here, especially with a crew on board. It’s safe with me, ain’t that right, Mike?

Yea, whatever.

Hey, Mike! Would you care to see what’s above those clouds? Mat asked.

It’s safe with me too, Rob, Mike replied as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. Mat gave his little grin again. The helicopter dropped Mat and Mike off on Unicorn, and they started performing their job tasks for the day.

Meanwhile at the main complex, Carl is looking at the National Hurricane Center forecast. Seas at two to four feet and building moderately, as Carl was reading quietly, wind speed’s at sixteen knots and building moderately. An unusual southwestern trough and a southeastern trough is starting to move the area of investigation north at a rapid pace. This area of investigation has a 40 percent chance of becoming a tropical hurricane within the next forty-eight hours. Carl was talking under his breath. Not a problem right now! The next update is at 5:00 pm, no problem.

Back on Unicorn, Mat and Mike were taking a lunch break inside the old quarters building. Mike took a bite of his sandwich and was talking while he was chewing. I don’t think I’ll be doing this all my life.

Mat said, Yea! You don’t like this kind of work?

While Mike was trying to swallow his second bite of sandwich, he replied, Well, I miss Heather a lot, and I’m away two weeks at a time, and we just got married.

Then Mat just downed a bottle of water. "Do the math, kid! You work two weeks on and two weeks off. That means you only work six months out of the year. You will work and get about 100 hours a week, that’s two hundred