California Rescue Water Craft Training

A five day, 40-hour POST certified course designed to provide marine patrol officers with the skills and practical experience to safely operate rescue water craft in inland waters, rivers, and oceans. Participants will gain practical knowledge regarding nomenclature, pre and post operation inspections, personal protective equipment, accessories, trailering, and troubleshooting vessel operational concerns. The course will cover navigation rules, weight loads, centering, close quarter maneuvers, docking, reverse functions, towing, rescue, and safe underway procedures. Participant skills will be assessed daily throughout the on-water training modules in regards to their physical ability, decision making processes, and underway operability.

Uitemate - Float and Wait - Water Safety and Survival

 

March marks Red Cross Month, and it’s a great time to understand how to be prepared for all sorts of things. Senior Airman Sarah Mitchell dives into the Himberg Pool to learn how to stay safe in the water.

River Rescues With Jet Ski Legend Eric Chretien

 

When I introduce Eric Chretien to people in the river surfing community I always introduce him as Monkey and then proceed to tell them that Monkey is the world’s best jet ski support driver for any river. Eric, being the modest person that he is, corrects me and and says, ‘actually it’s Eric, and he’s just joking’. Joking or not, Monkey’s resume is world class and when talking river surfing he stands above and beyond anyone else as the man you can trust with your life.

Navy SEAL Lessons Learned for Water Rescue Operations

 

It is mid-August 2016, and Louisiana is inundated with a flood of Biblical proportions.  According to press reports, the ceaseless rain has killed at least 13, and forced tens of thousands more from their homes.  More than two feet of rain has fallen over the course of five days, and forecasts show more possibly coming, which can lead to even more flash flooding.  There is basically nowhere for the water to go.

Press reports have also stated that more than 30,000 people have been rescued in the flooding, surely making it one of the country’s largest water rescue operations in history, though I have not seen the statistics to back that claim up.

As a currently-serving member of a municipal water rescue team myself, by way of my city’s paid-professional fire department, that number sounds incredible.  In this author’s head, I envision countless water rescue teams, augmented by many civilians in their own boats, spread across the state of Louisiana, picking people off of submerged cars, the roofs of submerged houses, and possibly even from half-submerged trees.

Read more; SOFREP

Great flood of 2016, Louisiana flooding, animal Rescue of Dogs by Cajun Navy

 

Shirley was trapped in the rising flood waters. We had to remove her from the flooded home along with all of her dogs. Cajun Navy at work. Louisiana Flood Footage. 

USCG Sector Columbia River Cape Kiwanda Rescue

 Rescue Watercraft (RWC) operators rescued February 1, 2016.

HIGH SURF ACCESSORIES’ RESCUE SLEDS OPEN PWC TO ALL NEW USES

 

Although 2-and-3 seater personal watercraft runabouts have been around since the late 1980s, adding a rescue sled for watercraft rescue is a fairly new concept. Because PWC are mostly used for recreational use around lakes, rivers and oceans, and manufacturers have expanded the original recreational use of PWC to include racing and towing for water sports (such as wakeboarding, wakeskating, tubing), tow rescue and tow surf by use of a tow board is something that is only a decade or two old (although big surf pioneer Randy Laine was doing it waaay earlier, but that’s a whole other story).

Through the use of a tow board, PWCs have gained additional traction with big game fishing and scuba diving/divers, in addition to dive rescue and reef exploration. Rescue sleds, such as those from High Surf Accessories (HSA), have opened up personal watercraft to a whole new world of use. In terms of swiftwater rescue, HSA states, “There is no such thing as too much power, just too much throttle. In fact, high horsepower makes navigation in a water current safer for all involved. ‘Slow is pro’ in swift water navigation especially with an attached tow board, and the ability to cautiously navigate fast currents, large waves and difficult gradients is paramount.

“The RWC’s low draft means less underwater obstruction contact and the ability to operate at lower water levels than outboard engines without decreasing performance. Obstructions become more difficult to identify during downstream navigation, and operators in the standard PWC standing position can identify obstructions easier and earlier than other watercraft. The combination of low draft and no exposed prop also allows PWC to maneuver closer to obstructions for search or rescue operations.”

 KEVIN SHAW The Watercraft Journal