The afternoon of 12th September saw the
Bernard Matthews II launch for its first excercise with
HM Coastguards and RAF Air Sea Rescue, the primary reason
for the practice was to provided opportunities for
training, improve response times and develop health and
safety proceedures.
During the practice session two special guests were on
board, our fund raising secretary Jackie Dixon and Adam
Hutchinson, from HM Coastguard Great Yarmouth. The
weather was fine; with bright sun and a Northerly breeze
giving a slight swell to the sea, making it ideal for
some dramatic clear pictures. The initial shots below
were taken from Caister Beach, however, the main
excercise took place off Britania Pier; to where I later
moved, with thanks to Mick Nutt, to obtain most of the
pictures and videos below.The initial practice involved
transfer of the wireman from the helicopter to the
Bernard Matthews II pictures DSCF0088 - 90. The second
short video clip shows him capturing the wire and being
winched back aboard the helicopter. Later the crew of the
lifeboat practiced this proceedure several times.
Transfer of personnel from the lifeboat to the helicopter
and back was practiced with the lifeboat both, stationary
and on the move. Finally recovery of a Man Over Board
from the sea to the lifeboat via the helicopter winch.
The last video shows almost a full proceedure from the
wireman leaving the helicopter to both recovered aboard
the helicopter.
Being the brave girl that she is! Jackie also took her
turn to be winched aboard the helicopter and later
confided, that moving through the heat and fumes from the
helicopter exhaust was the worst part of the procedure.
She had found the day a challenging and exhilarating
experience and was thrilled by the sheer speed of the
lifeboat and its response at sea.
Simply
click on any of the thumbnail images to see a larger more
detailed image of your selection, click Back in your
browser to return. Please note that ActiveX Controls need
to be operational in your browser to view the webpage
videos, or alternatively use the link to open an external
media player. Due to the size of some of the videos it
might mean a short wait for them to load depending on
your connection speed, so please be patient, I think they
will prove to be worth it.
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