62 from engagement with recess 68 in the supporting leg 14 when the pin is withdrawn it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the leg 14 will be free to be pulled up through the variable bearing assembly and to the platform deck leaving the bearing assembly imbedded within the seabed although the presently preferred embodiment discloses a rack and pinion mechanical advantage release mechanism other assemblies which provide mechanical leverage for release of the load pin 62 are contemplated moreover hydraulic air or explosive release assemblies may be utilized with the subject variable bearing assembly to selectively release the load bearing pin 62 after reading and understanding the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the drawings it will be appreciated that several distinct advantages of the subject variable bearing assembly for a jack up platform are obtained without attempting to set forth all of the desirable features of the instant invention as specifically and inherently disclosed above at least one illustrative advantage comprises a unique combination of a bearing member and a lost motion connection assembly between a guide mounted upon the bearing member and the distal end of an offshore platform leg by the provision of this lost motion connection the platform leg can cut into the seabed a varying distance depending upon the point of refusal of the soil and the lateral bearing member will provide an enhanced degree of lateral stability during the lost motion segment in those instances when the entire lost motion segment is taken up before.