A day I will never forget – Navy rescue part 4
THE GIRLS WERE SAFE NOW IN THE HANDS OF PETTY OFFICERS VODO AND ROKOVINO IN OUR SEABOAT, WHICH WAS A SEMI-RIGID INFLATABLE.
Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto is the Commander Republic of the Fiji Military Forces. The events he recounts here occurred when he was the Commanding Officer of the RFNS KULA. This is the continuation of the search and rescue operation account published in yesterday’s edition.
The seaboat, being the lighter of the two, bore the full brunt of this swell as it was thrown forward with great force that it tore itself away from the ship, snapping the steadying line and was spinning sideways and the momentum hurtling it back towards the side of the ship. My immediate reaction was to push the throttle and increase speed and allow the boat rope (which was still attached) to then pull the bow of the seaboat to stop the spin but I realised that we were dipping into the bottom of a big swell in front. Had I made that move, the end result could have been disastrous as it meant that KULA would now be faster then the speed of the wave and the front end will be jammed into the bottom of the front swell and the swell that is pushing us from the back could push the stern sideways and the ship will broach. Broaching is a situation where a ship is caught in between two big waves and the back wave rolls the ship over. It was a fifty-fifty chance that we could have made it but I hesitated and looked back. Petty Officer Vodo must have read my mind and he pulled on that rope that disengaged the hook. The boat rope from the seaboat allowed the seaboat to drift away from KULA. Had Petty Officer Vodo not done that, the seaboat could have smashed into the ship and capsize and then pulled under the ship into the spinning propellers.
The end result of these spur of the moment decisions was that our means of rescue was now also drifting in that rough sea, upright with the outboard engine still but with no crew. This again was done in full view of the kneeling girl and in close proximity. My immediate worry was that they might attempt to leave their punt and try and swim to the drifting seaboat, and that would definitely result in their demise. We had to act fast! I increased speed as we turned back towards the drifting seaboat, my eyes on the two girls hoping that they will not attempt to swim. We steamed close enough to the two girls and via the loud hailer told them to stay put and that we will rescue them. We had to now somehow get a crew on to that drifting seaboat and the only way was to swim to it. Everyone knew what was next and before anyone could speak, Petty Officer Vodo and Petty Officer Rokovino (our Electrician) just said in no uncertain terms that they would do it and suited up.
They had flotation vests on and signaled that they were ready. I had to now manoeuvre the ship to keep the seaboat upwind and drop the two Petty Officers down wind but close enough and allow the seaboat to drift towards them. The two will only be allowed into the water when the engines are stopped, a term we refer to as “Red Props” meaning you are not allowed to engage the engines either forward or astern until “Green Props” is declared.
In calm seas, this manoeuvre is easy; you would drive the ship to where you want it and make sure the ship is stationary before you declare “Red Props” and then you would hear the order “Swimmer into the water “the person who is in charge will tap the swimmer on the shoulder and he will just step off the deck and drop into the sea feet first. Thats the way it is done, but we were operating in conditions where it was NOT supposed to be done!
So I had to find a way to do this safely and it was definitely going to be different. The risk that I had to manage was around the two getting smashed back against the ship or worse still trapped under the ship after they jumped because of the rough seas. I quickly rehearsed a plan in my mind a few times and then shared it with the two,Vodo and Rokovino, and they indicated they understood.
The plan was to steam at some speed down wind from the seaboat where I will pass it at a distance of approximately 10 metres, the point where the two will be dropped, but the ship will declare “Red Props” before the drop point and have enough momentum forward to reach and pass the drop point. This way the two will enter the water when the propellers are not spinning and by the time they hit the water the ship would pass them, to save them from getting smashed into or trapped under it. To put simply, they had to jump from a moving ship with propellers not spinning. All through-out, the ship is steaming around at 10 knots just to control the movement of the ship. Everyone is holding on to some strong point just to keep from being thrown around and we were all soaked wet from the rain and the sea spray. I commenced the manoeuvre, increased speed and turned the ship towards the drop point, and hoped that the little plan that I rehearsed would work. The two were waiting for a thumbs-up signal from me to indicate Red Props and that it was safe for them to jump.
As the bow reached the drop point I stopped the engine and yelled “On the bridge “Red Props” thumbs up and the two disappeared over the side and then the anxious few seconds as I looked towards the stern waiting to see their heads pop back up to the surface and we should have passed them also.
Then “one, and two”, yes both heads above the surface and raising their hands to signal that they were ok and they started swimming towards the seaboat. That little plan worked.That wonderful feeling of success was back again so I gave the orders “On the bridge Green Props” and turned the ship around to position it upwind from the punt to afford some shelter from the waves.
As the two swam towards the drifting seaboat, I saw for the first time the second girl sitting up and both of them were bailing the water out from their little wooden punt with their hands, almost just like splashing the water out of the punt. I can only guess that the sight of the two sailors swimming to the seaboat gave the two sisters hope, and now they had strength to start bailing and keep the punt afloat long enough for the seaboat to arrive and rescue them.
We could see the Island of Moala clearly at this stage and it provided a good reference point as to where we were without looking at the chart or the radar.
I saw the two Petty Officers climb into the seaboat and then I could see the smoke coming out of the outboard as it started and the seaboat turning to the drifting punt and negotiating the big waves as it sped towards the now waving girls. I maneuvered KULA much closer now just to witness the transfer and just to keep them in sight. My thoughts were now on how to get the two girls and the two Petty Officers for that matter onboard, given what had happened to the seaboat when we launched.
I decided on a plan where we were going to attempt to hoist the two girls onboard and at the earliest sign of trouble we would abandon, and try and pass some foul weather gear (raincoat and trousers) to the seaboat just to keep the girls warm and then escort the seaboat closer to Moala and attempt the recovery there, hopefully in better weather conditions.
I watched the seaboat inch closer to the drifting punt and they quickly grabbed the girls and hauled them into the seaboat. It was one of those moments again...good feeling… “Thank you Lord”.
The crew broke out into cheers and clapping. The two girls were much safer now in the hands of Petty Officers Vodo and Rokovino in our seaboat, which was a semi-rigid inflatable (aluminium hull with inflatable rubber tubing around). Now that the two girls were safely in our seaboat, we discussed with the launching crew the recovery moves and we prepared accordingly.
DON’T MISS THE FINAL PART TOMORROW