Helicopter rescue; yacht specifics
Governing: MGN 161 (M+F), Hi-Line Technique (status to be confirmed); STCW Table A-VI/1-1; REG Yacht Code. Builds on: L4.1.
Helicopter winching
A search and rescue helicopter may lift survivors from the water, a liferaft or the deck. The aircrew run the operation. Your job is to make their job easy and not become a hazard.
Before it arrives
- Communicate: VHF with the aircraft or via the Coastguard. The noise overhead is extreme; ask for repeats and use handheld radios so the helmsman can hear.
- Clear the deck in the pickup area: stow or lash cushions, covers, awnings, flags, lines and loose kit. Rotor downwash lifts anything unsecured into the rotors or into people.
- Lower aerials, flagstaffs and anything that can be lowered near the pickup area.
- Steer as the pilot asks, often into or near the wind at steady speed. The helmsman concentrates on a straight course and does not look up.
- Brief the casualty and handlers. Lifejackets on.
Static electricity
A helicopter builds up a static charge. Do not touch the hook, strop or line until it has touched the deck or the water, or an earthing wire has done so. The Yachting Monthly guidance notes an earthing wire is lowered into the water from the main wire before you grab it.
The hi-line
When the aircraft cannot hover directly over a cluttered deck, it lowers a weighted hi-line first, connected via a weak link to the winch hook. MGN 161 sets the rules:
| Do | Do not |
|---|---|
| Take up the slack and haul in only when instructed by radio or hand signal | Secure the line to any part of the vessel |
| Have a second person coil the slack into a bucket, clear of obstructions | Let the line foul rails, rigging or the propeller |
| Wear gloves against rope burns | Hold on if the aircraft breaks away |
| Pay out or release the line if the helicopter breaks away | Wrap the line around your hand |
WARNING — Never make it fast A hi-line tied to a cleat connects a moving aircraft to a moving ship. If either moves unexpectedly, something breaks, and it may be the aircraft.
From the raft or water
- Keep the raft's entrances clear; the winchman may enter the water beside it.
- Do not grab the winchman or the wire. Do what you are told.
- In the strop: arms down by your sides once lifted. Raising your arms can slide you out.
PST on a superyacht
| Yacht reality | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Guests unfamiliar with alarms and kit | Your muster duty may be escorting a named guest group |
| Guest staterooms below decks | Stateroom sweeps are drilled under Annex C |
| Water toys and garages | Fire and flooding risks near the waterline; shell doors must be closed at sea |
| Tenders and rescue boat | The first help for people in the water; used at the master's order |
| Charter itineraries | Remote anchorages mean long waits for rescue |
| Mixed nationalities | Emergency instructions must be understood by everyone |
| Seasonal crew turnover | The 25% drill rule applies frequently |
TIP — Your part of the muster list Read the muster list on day one and ask what each line means for you. The day it matters, nobody will have time to explain.
PST is the foundation. The next steps are Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats for those who will take charge of craft, and the five-yearly update covered in L1.1.