Nothing lasts forever.

Even the massive breakwaters of Palm Jebel Ali, with stones of up to 6 ton, can disappear. Designed to withstand even the roughest weather, some parts of the breakwater surrounding the palmtree do no longer exist.

But that's nothing to worry about. The breakwater did not get demolished by a hurricane, but is being dismantled piece by piece by excavators and a crane. Because the Palm Jebel Ali is still growing (several projects which are situated outside of the outer breakwater of the original project), some parts of thie breakwaters have to be removed, and will be replaced by a beach.

So now, some of my collegues who made those breakwaters are now removing them again.

Puzzle

It is something that everybody has done in his life before, solving puzzles. However, I doubt that anyone did ever a puzzle with stone which can be as heavy as 6 ton.

The top layer of a breakwater consists of so called 'Armor Rock'. The part above water, which is visible, needs to have a nice, aesthetical slope. To achieve this, the rocks have to be placed one by one, just like a puzzle. The excavator operator searches for every spot the best possible stone. After placing the stone, he pushes and knockes the stones with the bucket to achieve a flat suface.

I have to say that some of these operators are real artists. If you see the stones on the stockpile, you cannot imagine that you can create a flat surface with it.

Action?

My last post is from quite some time ago. However, after a cold and windy break in Belgium, I'm back in Dubai.

For now I'm working on the (what we call) 'Waterhomes Project'. It is an extension to the Palm Jebel Ali which consists two causeways (at the exterior of the Palm) and several breakwaters to protect these causeways. It is again something new for me. A big part of the job is done from the landside since some of the breakwaters are connected with the crescent of the Palm Jebel Ali.

Desert BBQ

Even (or especially) during the winter, the desert is a perfect place for a bbq. In between the sand dunes, in the shadow of some bushes, one can make a perfect bbq.

Cat 988H

On the stockpile we have several machines. There are wheelloaders, dumper trucks, graders, bulldozers, ... However, there is one machine which is, I think, amazing. That's the Cat 988H. It's a wheelloader. But not just any generic wheelloader, but a huge one.

The machine is about 12m in length and 4m heigh and the tires have a diameter of 2m. But what is offcourse important on a wheelloader is the bucket. This one has a bucket of about 6m³, which means it can fill up a dumper truck with just three buckets or about 30 ton.

Rain

Yes, it's raining here in Dubai.

When I woke up this morning and got into my car, it was raining outside. And not just two drops.

However, when it's raining in Dubai, the roads are full of water because they do not have any kind of drainage system on the roads. And on the site, your car gets a nice wet sandwash.

Bad Weather

Since it is winter in Dubai, the weather isn't as good anymore as it was before. Temperatures are only around 18°C anymore. But that is not the most remarkable thing outside. There is also a strong wind (up to 30 knots above the sea). Because of the rough sea, a lot of ships/barges can not work anymore. On landside, the wind takes up the sand and causes small sand storms. Especially on the site, where they move around a lot of (dry) sand, the visibility can be severely reduced because of the sand in the air.

Also, they say that if it ever rains in Dubai, it is during this month. But so far I didn't really notice any rain here.