In the unlikely but entirely possible event that a crewman goes over the side of the lifeboat (it has happened to me but that is another story), it is vital that they know what to do and remain visible. On the sea survival course at the lifeboat college, crew are taught that where multiple people end up in the water, they should group together as closely as possible. This helps to save and share warmth, dramatically increases moral and also makes a far more visible target for rescuers. Our ILB crew practised this last night. Without doubt they were visible, in fact far more visible than could be hoped for. And they were comforted by this. Well, you would be, wouldn't you?!
2 comments:
I'm surprised at the lack of retro-reflective tape on the back of the helmet. If the casualty was floating face down, there wouldn't be a lot of the tape showing.
I assume that your Lifejackets are manually inflated? If so, then the possibility of the person being face down in the water must be relatively high? Or are they automatics that you just disable when you are training like that?
I guess you're right, however, face down is very unlikely. Although the jackets are manual gas, they are also fitted with a lot of fixed bouyancy, all of it on the front. It is not actually possible to sustain a face down attitude for long in these jackets before they flip you over.
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