Saving souls
CARDIAC ARRESTS ARE never welcome but they can be particularly nasty at sea, far from immediate help. And things often take an awkward turn, says Coastguard, when the victim is the skipper and no one else on board knows how to drive the boat.
In these situations Coastguard often works in tandem with chopper crews, air-lifting the victim from his vessel. The manoeuvres aren’t easy, says Paul Robinson, training manager at the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust.
“If the boat’s big enough the chopper will lower a man on board. If not, a chopper crew member jumps into the water – with a line attached – and climbs aboard the vessel. Usually, the first thing he does is administer CPR.
“The line is used to bring a heavier, steel cable to the boat. The swimmer and patient climb into a single sling and are winched up to the chopper, and the patient is delivered to the hospital.”
Air-lifts demand precision teamwork and coordination between the pilot, winch operator and the people on the boat.
“It’s particularly difficult when it’s a small boat,” says Robinson, “because the down-draught from the chopper’s rotor blows the boat around. That usually means putting a swimmer into the water. Yachts are also tricky because the rigging can snag the winch operation.”
To prepare for these situations, Coastguard trains with a variety of chopper operators. Pictured here is the Coastguard Northern Region practising with a Westpac Rescue chopper crew.
The Trust operates two choppers to cover an area from Huntley in the south to just north of Wellsford. This includes Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel.