Rescue boat issues

davidpm · #1 (**permalink**) 12-09-2011

I was talking to fellow over lunch who told me about a cruse he took a couple months ago aboard a cruse ship.
His ship was leaving Bermuda half way to the states when his captain got a request to turn around and pickup some distressed sailors.
It was a pretty good blow, 40 knots 15 foot seas.
A french 40' sailboat was in trouble.
The ship launched their rescue life boat over the side with no problem.
It was a little tricky getting all the people off the sailboat onto the lifeboat but they managed that too.

The real hard part was getting the rescue life-boat back on the ship.
He said it took them two hours before they were able make it happen.
They would approach and the violent action made hooking up the life boat very difficult.

Just thought it was interesting that retrieving the life boat was so difficult in rough water even thought the conditions were not as bad as they can get.

smackdaddy · #2 (**permalink**) 12-09-2011

I started a thread on this here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/genera...-prepared.html

It has several videos of these kinds of rescues, including the one you might be talking about from the CS Norwegian Gem.

WanderingStar · #3 (**permalink**) 12-10-2011

Rescue at sea can be deadly to all involved. That's why it has to be the absolute last resort.

baxon · #4 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012

I just don't get it... The ships have FAST RESCUE BOATS, but they aren't able to get the boat back on board quickly.

It proves lack of practice and bad equipment. Which cruse line was this? I would never use them...

I know that many offshore companies only use Henriksen hooks on their MOB boats, because they are reliable and quick to use.

SimonV · #5 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012

If you ever need to be rescued, I vote for a cruise ship...

Lake Superior Sailor · #6 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012

Cruise ships will bill you for the ride after rescue! Most others don't, cost bucks to ride first class!..Dale

hellosailor · #7 (**permalink**) 02-24-2012

"The ships have FAST RESCUE BOATS, but they aren't able to get the boat back on board quickly. "

And if the rescue boat reaches you, recovers you, and gives you a safe place to be until conditions get better, isn't that still better than nothing?

There may be no safe and economically feasible way to recover a boat in bad weather, except to wait for the weather to improve. Even the USCG shore-based rescue boats follow that policy, they simply are not sent out when conditions get too dangerous. And that's from shore stations, by professionals, operating in their home waters.

Transfering or recovering vessels at sea? If you can figure out a good way to do it, patent it.

paulk · #8 (**permalink**) 03-12-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by baxon

I just don't get it... The ships have FAST RESCUE BOATS, but they aren't able to get the boat back on board quickly.

It proves lack of practice and bad equipment. Which cruse line was this? I would never use them...

I know that many offshore companies only use Henriksen hooks on their MOB boats, because they are reliable and quick to use.

Henrikson hooks may be wonderful things, but in big seas, getting the lifting line into the hook may be more difficult than it was during a drill. Once it is attached, do you just start lifting right away, so the rescue boat swings in and bangs against the hull, bouncing everyone out of it or breaking their bones as they're shaken like loose marbles in a can? Or do you risk having the strain of the hoist pull up at an odd angle, ripping the fitting out of the boat, since it's loaded with perhaps 8 or 12 people (half a ton?) on top of the boat's weight, as it drops off the top of a 40' wave? Rescue helicopters manage by trying to fly up and down at least a bit to match the waves, so that people don't get catapulted out of the water and then smacked back down into it if they can help it. That sort of delicate maneuver is difficult with a 100,000 ton cruise ship.

When you're being rescued, it's not a good time to be picky about who's helping you.

denverd0n · #9 (**permalink**) 03-13-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulk

When you're being rescued, it's not a good time to be picky about who's helping you.

Yeah, really.

"MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY! Taking on water fast! Need immediate rescue... but only if you have a vegetarian buffet."

Lake Superior Sailor · #10 (**permalink**) 03-14-2012

With my bank book, it might be the only way I'll ever get on a cruise ship!....Dale