AgustaWestland2003-03-27 11:34:33
A dangerous rescue, times 20: Canadian Forces team plucks Spanish fishermen one by one from North Atlantic
Extracts from: National Post
Mon 17 Feb 2003
Page: A1 / Front
Section: News
Byline: Francine Dube
Source: National Post
Twenty-foot waves crashed across the listing Spanish fishing trawler Arcay yesterday as Sergeant Greg Smit, a search and rescue technician, was lowered to the icy deck from a Canadian Forces helicopter to rescue the 20 men on
board in rough seas off the south shore of Newfoundland.
The 50-foot trawler had declared a mayday signal at 8:25 a.m. Atlantic time, 55 kilometres southeast of the Burin Peninsula, the southernmost tip of Newfoundland. Some fishing gear had fallen overboard and was caught up in the ship's propeller. The Arcay's engine and steering had quit.
It was being towed by the Playa de Sartaxens, another Spanish fishing vessel, but the tow line had already broken once and the crew were fearful the new one would break too.
The seas were too rough for the ships to draw up alongside one another to allow the crew of the Arcay to clamber aboard the Playa de Sartaxens.
A new Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopter was called in from Gander, Nfld., but was unable to leave immediately, because of poor weather. It left as soon as conditions improved, arriving at the scene at about 1 p.m., with crew commander and pilot Major Gilbert Thibault; co-pilot Captain Francois Lafond; flight engineer Corporal Dwayne Brazil; Sgt. Smit and fellow search and rescue technician Sergeant Don McInniss.
A Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, N.S. flew above the Cormorant, as back-up. In the water, the freighter Cabot, which happened to be in the area, was positioned to provide a windbreak for the listing Arcay.
As the Cormorant helicopter hovered 80 feet over the stranded Arcay, Sgt. Smit was lowered to the ice-covered deck in a harness.
"If the flight engineer is doing his job properly, it's just like stepping off a stair; if he's not doing his job you can break your leg," said Sgt. Smit, in an interview after the rescue. "It's really hard to predict the sea sometimes when the boat's pitching up and down."
The Arcay had at one point been listing 30 degrees, said
Lieutenant-Commander Denis LaViolette of the rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax. The crew had been able to steady it at about 10 degrees by moving fuel around the boat to change the weight distribution.
Sgt. Smit landed safely. The Arcay's crew were holding onto the ships railings, about 20 feet away. Every couple of minutes a wave would crash over the boat, followed by a few seconds of stability.
"The stability lasted about, I was counting it, anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds or so, then the boat would start rocking and rolling for a good minute or two, then she'd stabilize out and that's when you want to do your rescue-type thing, in between," Sgt. Smit said.
He called the Spanish sailors from the railings two at a time, securing them in the metal rescue basket that was then hauled into the helicopter. It took about 70 minutes to clear the deck.
No one was injured. The 19 crew and one Briton -- the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization mandates that all vessels that fish offshore Canada travel with an observer -- were flown 15 minutes to Marystown, population 7,000, the closest community with a landing strip and hotel.
Mayor Sam Synard got a call from the local RCMP asking if they could use the town hall as a makeshift customs office for the men.
"They seem cold," Mayor Synard said. "I guess it's pretty traumatic to be plucked from the North Atlantic. On the best of days, it's an unpleasant experience and it's kind of windy here today and it's very cold as well. The sea has calmed a bit, but we've had two or three consecutively rough days. The winds for example, peaked at about 140 kilometres an hour."
The men had been wearing big orange survival suits and were without shoes or proper clothing. After the men cleared customs, they hopped into a cab to the local thrift store, operated by the Salvation Army, which had been opened on a Sunday especially for them. Then they checked into the local Marystown Hotel.
Under orders from the owners of their vessel, they declined to talk to anyone about the incident.
The Arcay's home port is Vigo, Spain, but it was towed to
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, to a ship's agent for the company.
The crew of the Cormorant went for lunch at Wong's, a Chinese restaurant in Marystown. Their respite was short-lived.
The rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax got another call. A patient at the Burin Hospital in Marystown had gone into labour at just 24 weeks and needed to be rushed to the Health and Sciences Hospital in St. John's.
"It's absolutely a fluke, total coincidence, it couldn't have worked out better for everyone involved," Lt.-Cmdr. LaViolette said as the Cormorant crew jumped back into the helicopter.
"It's just amazing. So they certainly earned their pay today."
Extracts from: National Post
Mon 17 Feb 2003
Page: A1 / Front
Section: News
Byline: Francine Dube
Source: National Post
Twenty-foot waves crashed across the listing Spanish fishing trawler Arcay yesterday as Sergeant Greg Smit, a search and rescue technician, was lowered to the icy deck from a Canadian Forces helicopter to rescue the 20 men on
board in rough seas off the south shore of Newfoundland.
The 50-foot trawler had declared a mayday signal at 8:25 a.m. Atlantic time, 55 kilometres southeast of the Burin Peninsula, the southernmost tip of Newfoundland. Some fishing gear had fallen overboard and was caught up in the ship's propeller. The Arcay's engine and steering had quit.
It was being towed by the Playa de Sartaxens, another Spanish fishing vessel, but the tow line had already broken once and the crew were fearful the new one would break too.
The seas were too rough for the ships to draw up alongside one another to allow the crew of the Arcay to clamber aboard the Playa de Sartaxens.
A new Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopter was called in from Gander, Nfld., but was unable to leave immediately, because of poor weather. It left as soon as conditions improved, arriving at the scene at about 1 p.m., with crew commander and pilot Major Gilbert Thibault; co-pilot Captain Francois Lafond; flight engineer Corporal Dwayne Brazil; Sgt. Smit and fellow search and rescue technician Sergeant Don McInniss.
A Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, N.S. flew above the Cormorant, as back-up. In the water, the freighter Cabot, which happened to be in the area, was positioned to provide a windbreak for the listing Arcay.
As the Cormorant helicopter hovered 80 feet over the stranded Arcay, Sgt. Smit was lowered to the ice-covered deck in a harness.
"If the flight engineer is doing his job properly, it's just like stepping off a stair; if he's not doing his job you can break your leg," said Sgt. Smit, in an interview after the rescue. "It's really hard to predict the sea sometimes when the boat's pitching up and down."
The Arcay had at one point been listing 30 degrees, said
Lieutenant-Commander Denis LaViolette of the rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax. The crew had been able to steady it at about 10 degrees by moving fuel around the boat to change the weight distribution.
Sgt. Smit landed safely. The Arcay's crew were holding onto the ships railings, about 20 feet away. Every couple of minutes a wave would crash over the boat, followed by a few seconds of stability.
"The stability lasted about, I was counting it, anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds or so, then the boat would start rocking and rolling for a good minute or two, then she'd stabilize out and that's when you want to do your rescue-type thing, in between," Sgt. Smit said.
He called the Spanish sailors from the railings two at a time, securing them in the metal rescue basket that was then hauled into the helicopter. It took about 70 minutes to clear the deck.
No one was injured. The 19 crew and one Briton -- the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization mandates that all vessels that fish offshore Canada travel with an observer -- were flown 15 minutes to Marystown, population 7,000, the closest community with a landing strip and hotel.
Mayor Sam Synard got a call from the local RCMP asking if they could use the town hall as a makeshift customs office for the men.
"They seem cold," Mayor Synard said. "I guess it's pretty traumatic to be plucked from the North Atlantic. On the best of days, it's an unpleasant experience and it's kind of windy here today and it's very cold as well. The sea has calmed a bit, but we've had two or three consecutively rough days. The winds for example, peaked at about 140 kilometres an hour."
The men had been wearing big orange survival suits and were without shoes or proper clothing. After the men cleared customs, they hopped into a cab to the local thrift store, operated by the Salvation Army, which had been opened on a Sunday especially for them. Then they checked into the local Marystown Hotel.
Under orders from the owners of their vessel, they declined to talk to anyone about the incident.
The Arcay's home port is Vigo, Spain, but it was towed to
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, to a ship's agent for the company.
The crew of the Cormorant went for lunch at Wong's, a Chinese restaurant in Marystown. Their respite was short-lived.
The rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax got another call. A patient at the Burin Hospital in Marystown had gone into labour at just 24 weeks and needed to be rushed to the Health and Sciences Hospital in St. John's.
"It's absolutely a fluke, total coincidence, it couldn't have worked out better for everyone involved," Lt.-Cmdr. LaViolette said as the Cormorant crew jumped back into the helicopter.
"It's just amazing. So they certainly earned their pay today."
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