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On Mon, 6 Oct 1997 09:32:54 -0400, Wrolf.Courtney@do*.co* wrote: > >Hi: > >I have had conflicting information about the procedure for helicopter >evacuation from boats. > >One set of people (who I trust) tell me that the boat has to let go the >anchor and get underway. They told me that >if not, then the downdraft from the helicopter just keeps blowing the boat >to one side. > >The other set (who I also trust) tells me not. > >Thanks in advance, > >Wrolf Wrolf, I have never seen nor heard of this. Helicopter evacuations are used in serious medical emergencies when evacuation by FRC is unsuitable. Time is critical in these applications. If a boat is at anchor, it will assume a natural position head to wind. If it is lying ahull, it will assume a natural position (usually beam on) to the wind. Either way, the boat's attitude is usually fixed due to wind and current conditions, unless there exists a heavy sea. The helicopter must make its approach head to wind, in order to keep station while (in Canada) a DND Sar Tech is lowered on a wire to either confirm or conduct patient stabilization, followed by a basket stretcher, into which the patient is secured and hoisted, then the wire comes down again to recover the Sar Tech. While it is true that the downdraft from the SAR helicopters can be considerable, especially on the Labradors that a ground crew must lean into to avoid being blown over during a landing, the effects that this might have on a small boat are irrelevant, since in a SAR situation the equipment MUST perform to task in any situation, including heavy weather where the boat may be getting tossed around. This is just common sense stuff. Hope this answers your question. -Sean -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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