Modern technology facilitates miracle rescue

[It’s another MadMariner feature from a few weeks back. —Tim]

The first major pleasure boat rescue operation of 2010 occurred on January 2. Dennis Clements, 55, was forced to abandon his Cal 39 sailboat Gloria A Dios when it was dismasted and holed in severe weather about 300 miles off the coast of North Carolina.

Gloria A Dios means "Glory to God," and Clements believes he owes his survival to divine intervention. Watching the Coast Guard interview with him, it’s difficult to disagree. His account is moving; very few of us will ever experience the many tiny miracles with which our own lives are blessed in such an unequivocal way as did Clements.

But even the sort of divine intervention Clements received would not have saved him had it not been for the professionalism and cooperation of two powerful organizations, along with a tremendous amount of technology.

[Clements on solid ground once more. USCG photo]

Navagear is a gear and gadgets blog, so I’d like to examine the technology side of this amazing rescue. I admit that this is the least glamorous aspect of the incident. It’s tough to compete with Navy and Coast Guard heroism, let alone divine intervention from the Almighty! So I won’t try. Instead, I’m going to recount the incident as I understand it, focusing on the tools and gear involved.

THE RESPONSE

At the risk of seeming glib, let me refer to the punchline of an old joke. In the joke, a recently deceased flood victim, about to enter heaven’s pearly gates, can’t understand why God didn’t intervene to save him, to which St. Peter responds, "We sent two boats and a helicopter!"

Clements is not like the fellow in the joke, which is probably why he’s alive today. When things became dangerous aboard Gloria A Dios, his ACR Satellite 2 Category II EPIRB was activated. This is an older model, not equipped with integral GPS like the newer units, so it took a bit longer for satellites associated with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) to zero in on the vessel’s position. EPIRBs are great, but for the record: GPS-equipped EPIRBS are even better.

Once the EPIRB was activated, the U.S. Coast Guard Fifth District went into action. Air Station Elizabeth City launched a HC-130J Hercules aircraft to search for the sailboat. An Urgent Marine Information Broadcast was transmitted, and satellite Enhanced Group Calls were used to identify other vessels in the area that might be able to assist. A commercial vessel participating in the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER) was diverted toward the stricken sailboat.

The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) was conducting air operations not far away, and immediately changed course and sailed at high speed toward the distressed mariner. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard’s Hercules crew was enroute to the source of the EPIRB signal.

The Coast Guard’s HC-130J variant of the familiar Lockheed C-130 aircraft is optimized as a long-range surveillance aircraft. It is equipped with a rich array of sophisticated electronics, including FLIR’s Star Safire III electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging system, which generated the visuals you see in the Coast Guard video of the sailboat and the liferaft drop. Keep in mind this video was taken in the midst of severe weather conditions including mixed rain, sleet and snow, yet the sailboat shows up clearly.

THE RESCUE

Once on the scene, the Hercules crew was able to communicate with Clements over VHF, and learned that his sailboat had been taking on water for several days due to the storms. After a large wave dismasted Gloria A Dios, causing two holes in the cabin that allowed even more water to come aboard, the crew of the Hercules dropped a pair of ASRK-24 life raft bundles upwind of the sailboat. The ASRK-24 kit consists of five bags, clipped together with 250 feet of line. Three of the bags contain Switlik POD-8 life rafts, while the other two are survival kits, and a Mini-B EPIRB is also included.

At this point, it was clear that time was critical. The Coast Guard watchstanders and the Navy’s U.S. Second Fleet Maritime Operations Center rapidly determined that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its air assets represented the quickest and safest way to rescue Clements. In what USN Commander Byron Ogden later described as "one of the most varsity things we could do as far as SAR goes," the "Nightdippers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 5 launched a search and rescue (SAR) team aboard an SH-60F Seahawk to extract the mariner from 18 to 21 foot seas and winds peaking at 45 knots.

Clements abandoned his sinking boat and struggled for nearly an hour in the high seas, in the dark, eventually bumping into one of the life rafts, which had overturned. Be sure to watch the interview to hear his account. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard’s Hercules aircraft offered aerial support, directing the Navy SAR helicopter through both snow and rain to the life raft.

It’s almost unbelievable that the final link in the chain leading up to the rescue involves the most prosaic bit of technology of the entire affair: Once the Navy SAR crew arrived on scene, they were able to locate Clements by his pocket-sized, non-waterproof flashlight.

The rescue swimmer, Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class Kyle Need, completed the extraction in only six minutes, despite the challenging conditions. Need said it was the collective effort that made the extraction possible. "We went over every possible scenario during the transit. The communication made the mission go smoothly," he said.

In the meantime, an Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew had flown to the Eisenhower to refuel. Once the Naval SAR crew arrived aboard the carrier, Clements was checked by the Eisenhower’s senior medical officer, and then the Jayhawk crew flew him back to Elizabeth City. The rescued man was back on solid ground Sunday at 3:45 a.m., almost eleven hours after he activated his EPIRB.

[A Navy Seahawk and USCG Jayhawk aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during the rescue. US Navy photo]

From the moment the EPIRB was first actuated, it’s difficult to imagine a better outcome. A miracle? Absolutely—a miracle facilitated by the coordination of professional, well-trained Coast Guard and Navy pe
rsonnel, equipped with some of the most powerful search and rescue equipment ever devised.