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#258449 - 04/01/13 09:51 PM Life & Death on the Bounty
billvann Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 05/10/01
Posts: 780
Loc: NE Illinois, USA (42:19:08N 08...
The final report won;t be out for several months, but this recap on CNN's website. Life & Death on the Bounty is revealing. It seems that the engine room and probably the bilge was cluttered with bits of wood and sawdust from recent repairs. And that the debris prevented the bilge pumps from working effectively.

There are other contributing factors, such as the captain's decision to head out to sea in the first place, why did he cut in front of the storm instead of continuing eastward to skirt it, did the ribs that were showing signs rot fail, and why were there so many inexperienced crew members?

One line really caught my attention was with regards to training,

Quote:
For Sprague, it was her first time ever inside a life raft. Deployment and inflating, the crew would later say, wasn't part of their training.


A re-occuring message that comes across in Doug;s writings and on this forum is that you must be totally familiar and practice survival skills. The first time you start a fire with a Magnesium fire starter should be in your backyard and not lost in the woods in a snow storm.

I can see where it would cost prohibitive to inflate rafts for each new recruit. Are there ways for new recruits to receive such training, like rentals at marinas?
_________________________
Willie Vannerson
McHenry, IL

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#258452 - 04/02/13 12:21 AM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: billvann]
JBMat Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 745
Loc: NC
There's a show on (I think) The Weather Channel that covers a lot of the questions about the planned route/crew/ship. It also shows the rescue of the crew members.

As to the life raft, you would figure there should be a "training" raft someplace they could have used. I was Army and have had life vest/raft training simply because I was in aviation units and overwater flight was common.

I reckon if I was going to be a crew member on a ship, I would want to be familiar with all the safety equipment. But I'll also bet a shiny nickel that the younger crew members weren't even trained on fire extinguishers.

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#258454 - 04/02/13 12:49 AM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: billvann]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Before we can go to an off-shore oil rig we have to go through extensive training including escaping from a mock helicopter with four other people which is upside down and sinking in a training pool...but no life raft escape skills. Interesting.
-Blast
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#258459 - 04/02/13 12:50 PM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: billvann]
unimogbert Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/10/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Colorado
I was a submariner.
We did no life raft training even though there were 2 (I think) onboard.

However there was submarine escape training in submarine school. (escape trunk ops, specialized lifejacket and training on how to breathe on the ascent)

No training about what to do once you reached the surface after escape.

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#258461 - 04/02/13 02:30 PM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: Blast]
ILBob Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/05/10
Posts: 776
Loc: Northern IL
Originally Posted By: Blast
Before we can go to an off-shore oil rig we have to go through extensive training including escaping from a mock helicopter with four other people which is upside down and sinking in a training pool...but no life raft escape skills. Interesting.
-Blast


A few friends have had to under go training on oil rigs. None of them described having to escape from an upside down helicopter.

They did have to go through some kind of training for the escape capsule that was on the rig. Basically an enclosed life boat that people would get in and be dropped into the ocean. They only trained them to get into the capsule and strap into the seats. They were told it was too dangerous to actually drop them into the ocean as part of the training.
_________________________
Warning - I am not an expert on anything having to do with this forum, but that won't stop me from saying what I think. smile

Bob

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#258465 - 04/03/13 12:26 AM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: ILBob]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I have done the uppsy-daisy helicopter thing as part of safety orientation in the NPS when doing flights over water. Got some good tips which I have never had to use, fortunately. During another flight safety training secession, we were urged to get in the habit of carrying survival basics on the body, not in a handy pack, because of the possibility of the pack's hanging up as you tried to exit - a really good application for a Ritter PSK.

To get back on topic, I would be surprised if the aren't safety training requirements for mariners, although that probably varies from government to government. Most inflatable life rafts require servicing at something like five year intervals, and that should be a good time to inflate them.

Maybe someone with maritime experience can expand on this topic further
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#258699 - 04/08/13 05:16 PM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: Blast]
DesertFox Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 01/04/07
Posts: 339
Loc: New York, NY
In Coast Guard boot camp, we did inflate and board life rafts. It does take some work. These rafts had passed their expiration date and were slated for destruction. I don't know if all recruits have to do this, or if it depends on whether there are any outdated rafts available.

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#258726 - 04/09/13 05:32 PM Re: Life & Death on the Bounty [Re: billvann]
JerryFountain Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 418
Loc: St. Petersburg, Florida
Hikermor,

Using the gas inflation system leads to early deterioration of the raft due to extreme low temps at the gas connection. Very few companies are willing to use the current rafts for that. Some of them will use old rafts, a VERY good practice. I have had the luck to do it several times - it can be HARD, especially if you are in a survival suit in rough 30 degree (-1 C) water.

Everyone who has the chance should get in the helicopter simulator. It is very like the problem of going in a lake in an auto. I have two friends (both helicopter pilots) who escaped from their truck and said the simulator made the process much easier (NOT easy).

+1 on having the minimum on your body!

The best,

Jerry

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