[PUP] Emergency survival in high latitudes - addendum

[Ross Anderson]

Good information, thanks and God Bless - Ross 10&2

On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 9:33 AM, George Morris <ghmorris at candlelight.ca>wrote:

> North Sea standard practice Offshore is you wear your helicopter survival
> suit destination to destination and I wouldn't expect that to change in
> Canada. You simply don't have time to don a suit when a chopper is going
> down. Last time I wore one you had a choice of about eight different sizes.
>
> Haven't used an Atlantic Canada standard suit, but one of the issues in the
> North Sea has always been getting the right balance between adequate levels
> of insulation while still being able to evacuate an inverted helicopter.
> Helicopters almost always roll inverted in a rough sea because most of the
> weight (engines, transmissions, rotors are high up on the hull.
>
> The better the insulation (Norwegian standard fully insulated suit), the
> more flotation you have and the harder it is to exit a window when upside
> down as the suit is too buoyant.
>
> The lower the insulation (UK standard shell suit) the easier it is to get
> out a window.
>
> It appears the Canadian suits are insulated, so are likely to be more
> buoyant.
>
> I've trained wearing both types in the environmental wave tank helicopter
> escape trainer. I will take the lesser insulation every time, because if
> you
> can't get out it doesn't matter how long you could survive otherwise.
>
> We do know this helicopter rolled then sank, and it looks possible that 16
> people didn't manage to get out.
>
> A little more info from http://www.hibernia.ca/html/she/safety.html :
>
> Immersion Suits
> Also known as "survival suits", immersion suits are probably the single
> most
> important piece of safety equipment for people working offshore. Hibernia
> contracted Mustang Survival of British Columbia to custom-design two types
> of safety immersion suits to meet the rigorous requirements of the east
> coast offshore oil industry.
>
> .. Helicopter Passenger Immersion Suits, which are worn by all individuals
> flying to and from the platform. ...
>
>  The immersion suits are without parallel in their thermal protection,
> flotation and comfort. In fact, they exceed Canadian standards for thermal
> protection. The suits also feature a "ratchet neck-seal" that effectively,
> quickly and easily seals shut in an emergency. Suits must fit properly to
> allow for freedom of movement. For this reason, Hibernia's helicopter
> immersion suits are available in 16 different sizes (compared to six to
> eight sizes typically available elsewhere) to better ensure a custom,
> comfortable fit. Suits are equipped with a whistle and high-intensity light
> to attract attention.
>
> Lifejackets are standard equipment with both types of survival suits. The
> marine abandonment lifejackets inflate automatically when saturated with
> water, while the helicopter lifejackets inflate when the ripcord is pulled.
>
> George
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: passagemaking-under-power-bounces at lists.samurai.com
> [mailto:passagemaking-under-power-bounces at lists.samurai.com] On Behalf Of
> Ross Anderson
> Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 7:40 AM
> To: Truelove39 at aol.com
> Cc: passagemaking-under-power at lists.samurai.com
> Subject: Re: [PUP] Emergency survival in high latitudes - addendum
>
> John, I had read and saw news reports but thanks for the Chinese news link!
> On the issue of survival suits - As you know we carried them for years on
> the 10 & 2 and still do. However having them aboard is not enough. I would
> gamble that on most boats the suits have never left the bag they are stored
> in. How many have tried to put them on for practice on a dock or quiet
> anchorage? Further how many have tried to get into one in a rough sea or
> rapidly descending copter? I had donned an old "Gumby" suit in the 70's
> while stranded for a short while in AK and huffing and puffing finally
> zipped up the suit and jumped in to go ashore for drinking water. Two years
> ago I tried to get into Mustangs latest survival suit which is supposed to
> fit up to 6'4" and 330 lbs if I remember the label right. Well at 5'10" and
> 280 lbs there was no way the Zipper would close - not even close. so it
> will
> have to be a custom made one for me. Moral of the story - (Besides  loosing
> weight) practice and make sure they really do fit you because waiting until
> you are sinking in AK waters with 10' seas is a bit late.  God Bless - Ross
> 10&2