06/18 - 06/19 - Port Townsend Safety Launch

Great! We've got good numbers.

Seems to me one side benefit we might get from this is doing some thinking about rescue. I can't say I've had the need to pull someone out of the water, so I haven't done more than think about it.

This is what I've come up with (work in process...): I think for this sort of event, it makes sense to have three people aboard, one to drive and two to rescue. Early on, person at helm should report to other boats and perhaps bring in a backup boat.

Since we will be working around rowing craft, we may be pulling someone out of the water, but we may be
looking at transferring someone out of a boat into ours. It seems to me the best way to do that is throw an inflatable dinghy into the
water, and transfer to that. The inflatable is closer to the water and won't crush a light craft. Keeping the dinghy on a tether might be good.

Any ideas or experience on this?

Dave
 
Dave,

I have been involved in a rescue of an incapacitated diver. An inflatable would have been the last thing I wanted to deal with during that event. 3 people on a boat would be good. I would be interested in Dave S.'s coments since he has training and experience in this area.

Barring the unforseen, we'll be there.
 
We are trained for MOB and recovery in the CG Auxilliary. Its not as easy as it seems. You are talking about 150-250 lbs of dead weight and getting that over the gunwale and then maybe having a medical emergency on your hands. A lifting davit is good, a dinghy tied fore and aft to the side of the C-Dory is OK, you can roll a person into the dinghy and from there into the boat. A swim step big enough for two to stand on is better but only Roger in Dreamer can offer that. It is better to have fewer boats with crews of at least three as Dave says. That crew has to be at least moderately physically fit and wearing life vests and gloves. Dave S. of Seashift would be the expert. The bottom line is that this is not something to be treated lightly or to go into unprepared.
 
I'm always impressed by the depth of knowlege and experience this group has. I think we can be well prepared by the time of the race.

I might remention that on Saturday morning, June 19, we will have the Rat Island Regatta (our annual local rowing regatta), and then the Townsend Challenge on Sunday. The Regatta is a race of about 7 miles, and it begins in late morning.

Anyone is welcome to do safety for either or both races. The Challenge will require more boats, as it is twice as long and in less protected water. My greatest concern is having a good number of us for the Challenge.

No reason we can't be joined on the weekend by Brats who may choose not to do safety boat. Welcome all.

I will check in with the Port, and get some details on docking.

Dave
 
colobear":1j2vt3hw said:
Dave S. of Seashift would be the expert.
Click to expand...

Ha, don't know about that... :roll: ...I've had to bring a number of "victims/patients" on board our Fire/Rescue boat, but it is a MUCH easier craft to work with as the gunwales are closer to the waterline than on our C-Dorys. Tom (starcrafttom) managed to bring two victims out of the Puget Sound from an overturned vessel with his 22' in rough seas and one of the victims, if I remember correctly, was a big fella. Additionally, they had been in the water for some time, so do to mild/moderate hypothermia were not too much help.
Obviously, it is will be a much easier task if there is a helmsman and two crew. "On the other side of the coin", the greater number of vessels we have on the water, the more we can spread our vessels out and perhaps be able to lessen the response time to a victim or victims and they in turn may be better able in assisting in extricating themselves out of the cold water. Hypothermia would most likely be the situation we'd be dealing with.....although there are always other possibilities (ie: head injury when capsizing or a medical condition). Presumably the contestants wear some type of protective clothing from the elements.
Another advantage of having more of our vessels is that if the weather "kicks up" several contestant vessels could capsize which would mean more victims to get out of the water and since our vessels are not huge, there is room for only a few victims on board with the crew.
In summation, there are a number of possibilities and considerations to be made, but we have plenty of talent and time to consider our "staffing options".
Knowing most of the "players" in this group, I'm certain our flotilla will be successful.... :thup
 
I don't have any training but did have to pull two people out of the water who were suffering from hypothermia. They had no ability to help at all. Bringing them both on to the swim step first, sitting with legs in the water, was the easies way at the time. and conditions where not good with a 4 ft swell and wind. It did require one person to be in or on the motor well, me. once a person was on the swim step two people could lift him or her into the cockpit. yes three man crews would be best. any one up for a practice on one boat at lake Stevens? who has a dry suit or a wet suit.? I have a wet suit if I can get my fat gut in it. really we should have more them a idea of how to handle a rescue and go train for the day.
 
starcrafttom":3gvix4r4 said:
any one up for a practice on one boat at lake Stevens? who has a dry suit or a wet suit.?
Click to expand...

I have a dry suit and I'm ready to practice. Lake Stevens would be fine. (Incidentally, I spent 1 1/2 hours on Lake Stevens this morning in our F. D. vessel. It was a gorgeous morning for a cruise....sunshine, blue skies and flat water!.... :smiled ).
 
Somewhere in the Kingfisher album are pictures of the Lifesling and 5:1 pulley block arrangement I set up for exactly this purpose) Dave, you saw this at one or other CBGT.)

With this attached to the radar arch you can lift a body high enough to roll them inboard.

Would suggest the addition of a harness with buckle for carabiner in case the PIW does not have any convenient attachment points. :shock:

Back-up system is a Bluefin Tuna gaff. :twisted:

We are doing similar duty this weekend for a bunch of small sailboats in the deception pass area. They prefer not to be "flushed" out to Japan with the ebb tide.

Merv
 
Randy pointed out to me the dates on the signup are not correct. They should be Friday, the 18th of June through Sunday June 20. I thinka nyone reading the posts would have understood that. If you can only come one night, that is okay, but I do want a good number for the big race - Sunday.

I participated in a meeting with the organizer and a person who will coordinate communications. He is a long term volunteer (and trainer) for the fire department, for both land and for water rescue, so he will be a great resource for us. He will be the go-between, if we need public services.

The participants in the race are being told they have to be prepared for self-rescue. As safety boats we are not in any way obligated to do rescues (legal reasons to our benefit, as I understand). As with any distress situation on the water, it will be up to us to decide what our capabilities are.

We should get some word this week about docking. I will make every effort to have us dock at Point Hudson, in the middle of the event.

Dave
 
An afternoon's work in anticipation of this event!

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If we get a heavy one, Roger, I'm calling you.

Word from the port director today is that they will waive the $7 reservation fee . The rate will be $1 a foot per night. We'll see if we can improve on that. At least we have the Port Hudson space reserved.

Dave
 
The Townsend Challenge Open Water race organizers are having a trial row over the course this Saturday. I was asked if I would like to accompany the rowers, and I said yes.

Are there any of you local folks who would like to join us on their boats? Harvey?

The rowers will gather at the Maritime Center at 9:00 and start soon after.

Dave
 
Dave,

Sorry I didn't see this soon enough to get back to you in time. Been off the site for a couple of weeks. PM Sent.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Last Saturday we had a trial row of the Townsend Challenge course, with three Seattle rowers doing the 20 miles. I followed the boats, with Steve Chapin, race organizer, and my son along.

It is inspiring to see these folks challenge themselves this way. Two of the three were veterans, and top finishers in previous Open Water races. They made it look easy. The third was a woman who has many years rowing experience, but her open water experience has been in kayaks. Maas had lent her a boat, and there she was. Her first leg was to Marrowstone Point (we ran the course backwards to gain advantage from the tide currents). The surface water was ruffled but not too bad. However, she had a tentative look about her, and I wondered how she would fare. After Marrowstone, she somehow looked way more confident, and rowed like the experienced rower she is.

At Point Wilson, with a strong ebb tide, we ran into a brief patch of steep lumpy water, maybe as much as five feet. It made me take extra care in my boat, and in one case I lightly buried the bow. Real waves. The rowers passed over it casually, no problems at all. From my own single rowing experience, I would have been pretty tense in a shell in those conditions. Rollers were breaking on the rocks on Pt Wilson. A good day for surfing.

After that, the water was relatively smooth, and current behind, so the trip to McCurdy Point was fast. They returned along the high bank close to the shore, getting a back current boost. Knowing local conditions will be important in this race.

At Pt Wilson, they turned to row back to PT, and pushed against a building wind the whole way. The rowers said that was actually the hardest part.

We learned a few things, captured waypoints and generally had a great time, making me all the more excited about the race. Steve tells me we may have as many as 100 entrants. Wow!

The rowers graciously took us to lunch in gratitude for the chase boat function.

Dave
 
Some technical business:

I am telling the race committee that we should have at least ten of our boats for the race. If anyone finds he/she can't be here, please give me notice, so I can keep track of numbers.

The Race is arranging for us to have reduced mooring rates at Port Hudson (good to be in PH, for proximity to event and to town). Each owner will receive a T shirt, and one person from each boat will have the Sunday afternoon banquet free. This is how things stand now.

Anne Cox wrote a while ago:
Will we be assigned an area to monitor? I am thinking if we are safety monitors we will need to be outfitted and staffed to potentially pick up and care for rowers in case of an emergency. Is that your understanding?

Dave again: Most if not all of us will follow the rowers around the course. There may be some need for stationary boats, and I am encouraging the idea that the non-C-Dorys do that. There may be a few, as well as spectator boats. One larger boat will be the radio contact boat for the race, and will be stationary.

To answer the second issue, we are present to assist, but are not required to. This somehow meets some legal standard that does not guarantee a rescue from any of us. The rowers are told they must be prepared for SELF RESCUE. We can offer supplementary help, at our descretion.

My own expectation is that the need for rescue is rare.

More details as I know them.

Dave
 
Roger, Dreamer asked me about communications. Here is the answer:

I am expecting communications should be very good. We all have VHF on our boats, and we will have a central boat (non-C Dory) which will coordinate communications for the whole course, and be the one to contact any emergency services. The guy handling that is an expert, who is connected with the county fire and ambulance services. We will have cell numbers as well, as a backup.

I think from our point of view, it is a chance to get good at this.


Dave
 
Dave,

Thanks for the updates. We are looking forward to this event. Do we need to make reservations at Point Hudson prior to the event?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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