Tag Archives: survival suit

‘Radio went dead as he was giving the mayday’: witness recalls hearing moments fishing boat sank

A tugboat crew member who was on a vessel near where the F/V Wind Walker capsized described the mayday call that came over the radio around 12:09 a.m. Sunday. “The radio went dead as he was giving the mayday,” Paradigm Marine first mate Glenn Jahnke said, describing the voice over the radio attempting to answer the Coast Guard’s questions, such as a description of the boat and the number of crew on board, suddenly go silent. “His mayday consisted of ‘mayday, mayday,’ then a pause and then another three maydays, Coast Guard responded. As I recall, ‘We’re on our side, taking in water and I have two people in the water,’” Jahnke added. Jahnke said after reporting the survival suit to the Coast Guard, he observed crews locating something else in the water. “They did find something that appeared to be an un-inflated raft kind of caught up in a jumble of flotsam,” Jahnke said. Video, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:42

Daniel Rigolet: the inventor of the survival suit

Although he was not well known, it is interesting to look back at the life of this man who saved many lives at sea. Born in the Paris region in 1930, Daniel Rigolet was already a seasoned sailor and oil tanker captain in 1971 when he came up with the idea of the survival suit. After starting out as a midshipman in sardine fishing, he trained until he reached the position of captain. That year, the tragic sinking of the cargo ship Maori in the Bay of Biscay occurred. Out of a total of 39 sailors, only one survived. He was saved from the cold November waters by the idea of putting on his diving suit. By keeping him warm, it saved his life. photos, >click to read< 07:55

F/V Scandies Rose: Tragedy survivor details harrowing experience during sinking

Jon Lawler, who was on the F/V Scandies Rose on Dec. 31, 2019, when the boat began rapidly sinking into the sea,,, As soon as things began going wrong around 10 p.m. that New Year’s Eve, Lawler knew something was severely amiss, he said, and immediately ran upstairs, encountering Capt. Gary Cobban in the process. “And I look at Gary,” he said. “And I said, ‘What the f— is going on? What’s going on?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. I think we’re f—— sinking.’ ‘No f—— s— we’re sinking.’ Fast forward, and Lawler would miraculously make it outside the boat alive, donning a rescue suit. That, though, was hardly the end of the distress. Video, >click to read< 13:35

Coast Guard hoists man clinging to a piece of debris from water in Union Bay, Alaska

KODIAK, Alaska – The Coast Guard rescued a 70-year-old man from the waters of Union Bay, Alaska, northwest of Meyers Chuck, Sunday. A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the man, who was in the water clinging to a piece of debris.  “What saved this man’s life was his essential survival equipment,” said Lt. Justin Neal, a helicopter pilot from Air Station Sitka. “He had an emergency position indicating radio beacon registered in his name that allowed us to find him quickly, and his survival suit kept him warm long enough for us to rescue him.” Weather conditions at the time of the incident were up to 57 mph winds with 10 foot seas. >click to watch< 07:57

A man on board the fishing vessel Irony, fell into the water and was found clinging to a piece of debris by the US Coast Guard Sunday>click to read<

Fishermen train for a rescue in an industry full of danger

The thick red neoprene of my survival suit pressed my nose flat against my face, as I flopped into the makeshift rescue rig. A winch above strained to pull me from the dark water. The rope snapped. I plunged back down, spat out salty water and bobbed to the surface. “And that’s why we do the drills,” said Matthew Duffy, a safety advisor with the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia. Duffy stood on the boat above me in Port Mouton, N.S., next to a sheepish captain who later vowed to buy a new rope. On an adjacent wharf, dozens of fishermen watched our mock rescue. >click to read<12:41