Had a couple of days “off” in Norway last weekend, then went straight to Newcastle to do the VOR Safety Training. Two very relevant days, made exactly for what we are doing. And even though our safety equipment is the best there is, what one are left with in the end is to not end up in a situation where you need it.
The first day was theory mostly on first aid, and a couple of hours of firefighting. I think most the VOR sailors have experienced some kind of fire onboard, particularly on the electrical system, which makes this quite relevant. But this course isn’t all about being taught what to do, after all the crews possess hands-on experience with most issues. Just as much as going through the syllabus, we discuss solutions to different scenarios and transfer experience between us. We didn’t have any fires during the last race, but a few ones in our preparation that we could sort out by turning the power off. However, Moose had a good one on ABN Amro where the batteries caught fire, which was hard to put out. We now have improved solutions for how to fight such fires.
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| Moose and Frankie getting their injuries sorted out |
The second day was mostly on the use of our safety equipment and life raft, ending up with a few hours in the “environmental” pool with waves, wind, tropical rain, noise and darkness. We did this before the last VOR as well, but it is very good with a refresher. Here we got familiar with setting up our life jackets, turning the life raft from upside down, getting into it, being inside it upside down and maintaining it. In reality, it is going to be quite rough when you have to get in it, so we train for that – getting rid of the water inside it, picking up and treating injured crew members and helicopter rescue.
The most uncomfortable I have been in life (I think!!) is swimming around backwards with the life jacket hood on. I just feel like I can’t breathe through the 6 or so tiny venting holes inside this completely fogged down hood of a tent. It is supposed to protect from breaking waves and heavy rain, but I just feel like I don’t have control of what’s going on around me. But got through it this time as well J
The final exercise this time around was to swim around in the pool with all the “environment” turned on, without the life jacket. Those who got in trouble was picked up by the divers, but we all seemed to be decent swimmers. Of course, it helped that we did this with survival suits on, not being dragged down by the wet weather gear being full of water.
Just sent this link to the instructors of the VOR Safety Course. It is one episode of the documentary on the Norwegian Rescue Services (330 squadron), a helicopter rescue of a Norwegian sailor in the North Sea at winter. Worth a look, but in Norwegian. Strong guy! http://www.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/475709/
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| Unconscious in the life raft, EPIRB antenna jammed between teeth |
