Sea Survival Training with the Irish Coastguard

2,887 views  |   November 29th, 2013 

Darryl Hughes shouting to be heard above the noise of helicopter

Darryl Hughes from First Class Sailing has written a great personal account of his encounter with the Irish coastguard, which all started when he and his crew received a call on their VHF radio…

Maybird took part in a training exercise with the Irish Coastguard recently. We were sailing to windward in some 22 knots of breeze from Kilmore Quay, Co Waterford bound for Helvick, Co Cork.

We received a call on the VHF radio from the Coastguard on Channel 16 and agreed to take part in a Hi Line Exercise. We had some five minutes before the helicopter arrived so I quickly briefed the crew, as the noise when the helicopter arrives is deafening and trying to communicate with the crew with the helicopter above is very difficult – in the photo you can see me shouting with helicopter directly above!

We dropped the main, topsail and jib, put the engine on and motorsailed on our windward course. Mike, our best helmsman was put on the wheel and steered the windward course requested by the helicopter pilot.

The Helicopter Arrives

Yacht

The helicopter crew took a few minutes to work out the best part of the Maybird to drop the winchman down – unlike a modern yacht, she is pointed at both ends, so they decided the best option was to place him just by the cockpit.

The winchman dropped down the hi-line, which we earthed and then placed on the deck so it could run free. As the winchman descended the helicopter crabbed over our port side, and crewmates Pete and Simon pulled him in using the hi-line.

Mike meanwhile continued to accurately steer the course given to us by the pilot. The winchman gracefully descended on the deck by the cockpit, detached himself from the winch cable and the helicopter flew off.

Farewell And A KitKat

Irish Coastguard winchman

After some radio traffic on Ch 16 the helicopter returned and dropped the winchline. The winchman attached himself to the line and up he went – but not before we gave him our last remaining Kitkat! You can see in the pics that he is in constant radio communication with the pilot in the helicopter.

The exercise probably took up about 40 minutes of our time but was invaluable experience for the skipper and crew of Maybird. My advice is if the Coastguard does ask you to take part in a training exercise, grab the opportunity with both hands. Just make sure you’re not down to your last KitKat!

Darryl’s blog highlights the hard work the Coastguard carry out to keep us safe at sea, practising their skills to prepare for emergency situations.

To find out more about our sea survival courses (designed to help you stay safe while waiting for rescue), visit our Sea Survival Course page or call us on [number].

Posted by: First Class Sailing

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