![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Mattera-SH.gif\")
A qualified Coast Guard-approved marine drill instructor, Fred Mattera of Point Judith, RI is the owner\/president of North East Safety Training Co. (NESTCo), which conducts fishing vessel drills and inspections and basic safety training workshops.<\/p><\/div>\n
Have each crewman step over the rail and straddle the polyball between his\/her legs and lower them to a safe point of entry by slowly slacking out the line.<\/p>\n
This minimizes the possibility of injuring a crewman inside the life raft or yourself when jumping from any distance onto the canopy.<\/p>\n
Remember; your odds of surviving are going to be worse if you hurt yourself or a crewman.<\/p>\n
Jumping into the water.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>If you must enter the water, choose a safe place to leave the vessel, keeping in mind the following points:<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 If possible, enter where you can use the painter line to guide you to the liferaft.\u00a0 If you are not in contact with the painter line you may be swept beyond the raft.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Beware of hazards below you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t jump onto crewmen, objects, or burning oil.\u00a0 Jump from the lowest suitable point to minimize impact at the water.<\/p>\n
If you are wearing a PFD.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Be sure it is securely fastened.\u00a0 Cross your arms over your chest to help hold it down.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Block off your nose and mouth with one hand.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Protect your head.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Keep your feet together in case you land on something.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Check the area below before you jump.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Jump feet first.<\/p>\n
If you are wearing an immersion suit.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Be sure it is fully zipped and that all closures are snug.\u00a0 You want it to keep water out.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Leave the external floatation bladder deflated until you are in the water.<\/p>\n
*l\u00a0 Hold the top of your suit with the inboard arm for two reasons: to protect your head and to prevent escaping air from popping the hood of your suit up over your head.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Check the area below.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Jump feet first, with feet together.<\/p>\n
Stay with your vessel.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>If your vessel is still afloat, remain secured to it unless a fire or some other danger forces you to cut the painter.\u00a0 There are two good reasons for remaining attached to your vessel:<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 It may not sink, and as long as it remains afloat it is a potential means of shelter.\u00a0 If it sinks in shallow water, it may serve as an anchor for the liferaft.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Staying attached to your vessel keeps you closer to your last known position and makes you easier to locate, both visually and on radar.<\/p>\n
Action in the water.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Avoid staying in the water even one second longer than necessary.\u00a0 You will lose body
\nheat to the surrounding water more rapidly than it can be generated. This leads to hypothermia, unconsciousness and death.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Wearing extra clothing will help delay the start of hypothermia.\u00a0 If you cannot get into the liferaft, do not
\nswim aimlessly.\u00a0 Swimming increases heat loss.\u00a0 Remain as still as possible, using floatation to keep you high in the water.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Since heat loss occurs much faster (25 times) in water than in the air keep as much of your body out of the water as possible.\u00a0 Now is the time to inflate the external bladder on your Immersion suit by means of the mouth tube.\u00a0 You may be able to get on top of floating debris, a life ring, board\/checkers, hatch cover, etc. to keep you out of the water.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 If you only have a PFD on use the HELP (heat escape lessening posture) technique \u2013 arms across your chest with hands under your armpits and legs curled up and crossed.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Use your whistle to attract attention.\u00a0 You may not be visible, this will enable others to know where you are.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 If possible, form a group with other survivors in the water. There is safety in numbers and a group is more easily located and more likely to maintain morale.\u00a0 Huddling together will also decrease heat loss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Boarding the liferaft from the water.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Boarding a liferaft from the water without help is difficult.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Pull your head and upper body in first using the boarding platform and lifelines at the raft entrance.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 It may help to bob down and use the buoyancy of your PFD or immersion suit to help lift you out of the water.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Once your upper body is on the buoyancy tube, there should be internal lifelines to help you pull yourself all the way in.\u00a0 Be careful not to pull yourself in by the canopy and avoid the risk of tearing it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Getting an injured man into the liferaft.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>If one of the crew is injured and unable to help himself or herself aboard the liferaft, pull the injured person in carefully to avoid aggravating the injuries.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Have the victim face the liferaft until you get his\/her upper body aboard.\u00a0 Pulling in with his\/her back to the raft could cause additional harm if you\u2019re dealing with a back injury.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Once his\/her hips are resting on the buoyancy tube, gently turn until the victim is on his\/her back, now pull them into the liferaft.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Keep him\/her lying on their back until you determine the extent of injuries.<\/p>\n
Righting a capsized liferaft.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>One person can easily right a capsized liferaft if it is done before the canopy fills with water.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Swim to the side marked Right Here<\/i>.\u00a0 If there is no marking go to the side with the CO2 cylinder.\u00a0 Maneuver the cylinder side of the raft so that it is downwind, then reach up and grab the righting strap.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Start pulling yourself up onto the liferaft.\u00a0 It may help to kick your feet out as if you were swimming.\u00a0 Some rafts may right while you are climbing up on them.\u00a0 If not, stand on the very edge, where the CO2 cylinder is located.\u00a0 Now lean back with all your weight and pull on the righting strap.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 If the canopy is clear of water, the liferaft will begin to follow you.\u00a0 If the raft is large, it will land on top of you unless you spring backwards just as the raft begins to right.\u00a0 Another option is to have another crewman, an arm\u2019s length away and to the side, catch the raft as it comes down and pull crew clear to avoid entanglement.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 If the raft does land on top of you, don\u2019t panic.\u00a0 The bottom of the life raft is soft and flexible and your head will form an air pocket.\u00a0 Stay face up, catch a breath of air and pull yourself out from underneath.\u00a0 If you try to swim out, face down, your PFD or immersion suit could get hung up and make it difficult for you to get free.<\/p>\n
Righting a capsized liferaft with water trapped in the canopy.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>If the inverted canopy fills with water, the life raft will be more difficult to right.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Put as many crew as you can on the on the righting strap and try to pull it over.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 If you can\u2019t right it, you may have to cut a hole in the non-vulnerable part of the canopy, taking care not to deflate the canopy or the life raft.<\/p>\n
In Part 4, we will review the vagaries of surviving aboard the liferaft, including use of signals, treating injuries, preserving body heat, leadership and morale, and establishing the routine.<\/p>\n
<\/i>A commercial fisherman for 40 years, Mattera is a director of AMSEA, member of the Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee to the Coast Guard, and, since 1998, has been president of the Point Club, a fishing vessel mutual insurance group.\u00a0 He also has served on the board of directors for Sunderland Marine Insurance Co. a subsidiary of North of England P & I, the principal underwriter for the Point Club and more than 2,000 US fishing vessels, since 1998.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
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\nNOVEMBER 2017 issue of\u00a0Commercial Fisheries News.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/CFN_11_17-cover-243x300.jpg\")
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