Rescue at Sea for Dummies

On a routine safety patrol from Wiggins Pass, you come upon a man in the water who has been injured and needs help.  He is exhausted or unconscious and unable to help you bring him aboard your vessel.  This is the emergency our coxswains and crewmembers at Flotilla 96 have been training to handle with Herman, our life-size rescue dummy.

Herman joined the flotilla early last year at the invitation of Larry Urbanek, then Flotilla 96 Commander.  Larry says the purpose of training with the rescue dummy is to make conditions more realistic and to make the rescue operation safer for both the victim and the crew who haul him aboard.  Nicknamed Herman by the flotilla, he was bought from Dummies Unlimited Inc., a California company that specializes in manikins for law enforcement and fire rescue.

Herman awaits his fate at the dock

The manikin takes on weight by filling up with water through small holes drilled in the legs and arms.  The torso may be filled with water by opening a valve at the shoulder.  When filled with water, it sinks to neck level.  It can be water-filled to weigh up to 140 pounds and additional weight can be added.

Learning to save Herman has not been easy.  Besides Larry, who is now Staff Officer for Member Training, the rescue team includes John Gaston, Ned Herrmann (no relation to the dummy), and Michael DiPierro.  They tried different methods, consulted with the Coast Guard, worked with other crewmembers, and finally came up with a system that works.

A simple “lift strap” is the secret to success.  This two-inch wide nylon strap with handles at each end is available for about $20 at home improvement stores such as Home Depot.  Six to eight feet long, it is used primarily for lifting heavy weights in the construction industry.  With the engine in neutral and the victim facing away from the boat, crewmembers maneuver the strap across his chest and under his arms, crossing the strap behind his back and firmly gripping the handles.  Next comes the “bounce” needed to lift the victim high enough to get him over the transom of the boat.  

. The bounce lift, used by the Coast Guard and other experienced rescuers, requires physically dunking the victim twice underwater to harness the body’s natural buoyancy.  As he springs out of the water the second time he reaches an optimum height that permits crewmembers to pull the handles of the strap and haul him aboard. 

Beginning in the fall, everyone certified for on-the-water duty will learn how to rescue Herman. 

 Herman is a popular attraction at boat shows.

Safety at sea is a lesson Larry learned years ago as a crewmember aboard the California square-rigger, Pilgrim, a replica of the brig on which author Richard Henry Dana sailed in “Two Years Before the Mast.”  One of the drills required jumping overboard and donning a lifejacket in the water while blindfolded.  That, at least, is not part of the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s member training in Flotilla 96.