National Adult Literacy Database

January 28, 2002

This week, we have a story written by Sean Hill, from Victoria, BC. Sean was born in 1962 and raised in Victoria, BC. His father was raised in Northern Ireland in a village called Balymena. His mother was raised on Salt Spring Island, and her ancestors were from Norway. Sean has three older sisters and there are 12 grandchildren in the family. He met his wife Lawney in 1987. They have a baby boy. His name is Joshua and he is two years old. They bought their first home in May, 2000. Sean has worked in the drilling industry for ten years but business has since slowed down. He went on Employment Insurance, called READ Victoria Society, and here he is today.

A Bad Day on the Sunshine Coast

by Sean Hill

At 4:30 in the morning Jamie, Gordon and I left Horseshoe Bay on the Rivtow tugboat on our way to Gambier Island. We had to start at this time because of high tide so we could move the rig, cat, dump truck, and service truck. We landed the barges on the island, fired up the cat, rig, excavator dump truck, and service truck. We started moving the rig down the rocky hillside. We hooked the winch line to the front of the rig from the cat and excavator. We started pulling the front of the rig with the excavator sideways and the cat from the back. I was watching the back of the rig and Rick tautened the line and sent me flying in the air. I landed on the ground and Rick hit a tree and it hit me. We got the rig on the barges. A windstorm came up in Howe Sound and we had five foot swells. I had to take the 14 foot boat around the island in the storm.

It was a strange morning. First Rick sent me flying and hit me with a tree, I drove a boat in the storm and I got around the island. We started loading the barges with the cat, excavator and service trucks. We had to go in the brush for the dump truck and broken service truck. We hooked the chain to the dump truck and to the service truck. Gary started to drive the dump truck. The chains got taut and hit the bottom of the truck and broke the brake line. I had no brakes or horn and was getting closer to the dump truck. I hit the back of the dump truck and broke the brake line on the dump truck. We towed the dump truck and service truck on the barges, moved off the island in the storm in Howe Sound and travelled to Horseshoe Bay.