December 7th 1991, 1830hrs

It’s exactly 18 years ago tonight as I write this that I took a swim without the benefit of a PFD, a witness, or any idea that it was imminent.  No, I wasn’t plowing through heavy seas and swept over the side.  I wasn’t sleepily standing at the rail, uh… relieving a biological need.  And I wasn’t trying to jump a distance that I should’ve reconsidered.  I was climbing down a ladder in the dark to walk up the dock and call home.

My boat (the Dragon Lady) was waiting orders in the old General Marine Shipyard, formerly the Jackson Shipyard in Mariner’s Harbor, Staten Island, NY.

It was just after the evening meal and the cell phone was not yet part of my standard equipment.  So up to the pay-phone I went.  I told the Chief I was going up and he was settled in watching TV as I climbed up and over the barge we were tied up alongside.  No one was in sight as I steadied the ladder and took the first three rungs quickly.  My world started spinning in a sick and twisted circle as the ladder collapsed under me and promptly sent me falling into the Kill Van Kull.  The four feet of clearance between the dock and the barge was enough for me to fall straight in and miss hitting my head on the dock by inches.  I went fairly deep, having dropped from about twelve feet or so ( the Russian judge posts a 9.5) and came straight up to the surface.  Lucky for me I was a fit 36 year-old at the time and it was high water slack.  I managed to keep my wits.  I was wearing a heavy coat and boots and  aware enough to quickly get a handhold on the first thing I was able to grab, a broken exposed bolt that once held a string-piece in place. This same bolt could’ve been the end of me had I made contact with it on the way down.

After a long few minutes I was able to pull myself up onto the dock.  As I sat and considered how close I came to meeting my maker, I spied the hole in the dock which the leg of the ladder had slipped into.  That ladder was set hours before and as the barge rose with the tide it shifted the ladder to within a few millimeters of the damaged deck plank.  My body weight was enough to send it the last bit and drop me on my way.  I stood and reset the ladder and took a very chilly walk back to the tug.  As I entered the galley to find the Chief still watching TV, his query upon seeing how “hydrated” I was, “What, is it raining?”.  A valid question but for the look that must have been on my face.  I told him how I just missed killing myself and elicited the requisite, somewhat sympathetic “Wow, that sucks”……

I am more than aware of how differently it might have turned out.  I wasn’t expected to be back in short order.  In fact if I didn’t come

back for an hour or so, it would have been assumed I stopped in the local pub across the street for a beer (in those days we could still grab a cold one when nothing was scheduled for a good bit of time).  If I had bumped my noggin on the way down, no-one would have thought to look for me for a good long time.  And time is not what you have when you’re in the water in December.

If I had been wearing a P.F.D., I would at least been on the surface and maybe been able to call for help after “coming to”,  hopefully  before I succumbed to hypothermia.  Or at least, my remains would have been easier to locate.

So, I know it’s a tired old song, but  crew members are lost over the side every year.  The winter temperatures allow no quarter and will sap the warmth and life from your core as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.  Taking a moment to make certain the ladder or gangway you’ll be using is safely set will prevent an unexpected swim.  And wearing a P.F.D. will give you time to attempt a self rescue, or at least ensure that when you’re discovered missing, you’ll still be on the surface.

Lesson learned my friends.

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Taxis, Grub, and the Seaman’s Church. 215-922-2562

215-922-2562

Write this number down and put it in your logbook for reference, if you work a tugboat in the Philadelphia area from Marcus Hook to Philly, theSeaman’s Church will provide a van to pick your guys up, take them to the market, bring them back and all it costs is what you would consider a fair donation.

I received this information from Captain Pete Monks of the tug Stephen Reinauer only a couple of days ago and felt as he did, the information should be spread to the four winds.  The good people of the Seaman’s Church are no stranger to me, I spent many an hour studying for my First Class Pilot’s ticket in the Seamans Church Insitute that was above to the Church at the Battery, NY.  They have visited my boat during the Christmas holidays with small tokens for the crew that helped them feel like they weren’t forgotten a long way from home.

Any of us can tell you one of the worst parts of grub shopping is the wait for the cab.  Sometimes it’s hours only to find they forgot about you. You’ve heard it said so many times “Yeah, we’ll be there in ten minutes.  He’s around the corner”.  Yeah right, as the ice cream has reverted to its liquid state and the poultry is going to be suspect unless its cooked immediately.  This doesn’t even begin to take into account how much sleep is being sacrificed to get re-supplied.

So as I understand this, you call the SC and ask if they can give you a lift to the market, since they aren’t required any security escort, because of who they are, they have an easier time getting access to the boat.  They can drive to you rather than you needing to arrange a security detail fit for Obama to get you up to the front gate.  They will take you to the store and then back, no waiting no mus, no fuss.  When you’re done, back to the boat and away they go into the mist.  The rate of compensation I’ve been advised is in the $60.00 neighborhood, but one of our crews donated $80.00 since the driver not only saved them a ton of time, he hauled groceries as much as anyone else.

So, the next time you’re in or near Philly, and you need grub, call the folks who’ll show up, hang around, and bring you back and only ask that you make a donation….be generous.  Yup, sounds like a good thing.

215-922-2562

Write this number down and put it in your logbook for reference, if you work a tugboat in the Philadelphia area from Marcus Hook to Philly, the Seamen’s Church will provide a van to pick your guys up, take them to the market, bring them back and all it costs is what you would consider a fair donation.

I received this information from Captain Pete Monks of the tug Stephen Reinauer only a couple of days ago and felt as he did, the information should be spread to the four winds.  The good people of the Seaman’s Church are no stranger to me, I spent many an hour studying for my First Class Pilot’s ticket in the Seamans Church Insitute that was above to the Church at the Battery, NY.  They have visited my boat during the Christmas season with small tokens for the crew that helped them feel like they weren’t forgotten a long way from home during the holidays.  And that’s just a fraction of the services they perform for the maritime community.  They treat everyone the same, from ships to tugs and barges.

Any of us can tell you one of the worst parts of grub shopping is the wait for the cab.  Sometimes it’s hours only to find they forgot about you. Nothing like standing in the rain, or snow waiting for someone who isn’t coming.  You’ve heard it said so many times “Yeah, we’ll be there in ten minutes.  He’s around the corner”.  Yeah right, as the ice cream has reverted to its liquid state and the poultry is going to be suspect unless its cooked immediately.  This doesn’t even begin to take into account how much sleep is being sacrificed to get re-supplied.

So as I understand this, you call the SC and ask if they can give you a lift to the market, since they aren’t required any security escort, because of who they are, they have an easier time getting access to the boat.  They can drive to you rather than you needing to arrange a security detail fit for Obama to get you up to the front gate.  They will take you to the store and then back, no waiting, no muss, no fuss.  When you’re done, back to the boat and away they go into the mist.  The rate of compensation I’ve been advised is in the $60.00 neighborhood, but one of our crews donated $80.00 since the driver not only saved them a ton of time, he hauled groceries as much as anyone else.

So, the next time you’re in or near Philly, and you need grub, call the folks who’ll show up, hang around, and bring you back and only ask that you make a donation….be generous, it’s well worth it.

Yup, sounds like a good thing.

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Hypothermia, Again.

When I come across someone’s story about how an emergency was handled I always try to keep the story in perspective since I know that even when we drill for an emergency, it will seldom follow the  course we expect.  Many decisions are made in the heat of the moment and only a well drilled team will overcome the tendency to shoot from the hip.

Reading these accounts is always enlightening but  most times it’s downright scary.  And even though the facts about hypothermia are well documented and the shortcomings regarding field treatment recognized, there is still a lot of mis-information regarding how to treat someone who has fallen into cold water.

The recently released newsletter from the N.M.A. contains a letter from a mariner describing a late night-cold water M.O.B. situation on a Western Rivers towboat and the efforts expended to recover a very large, cold, and wet individual.  There are many facets to the story but the ones of immediate interest to me included how the habit of many deckhands wearing a P.F.D. too loosely can have a dangerous consequence. Additionally, the lack of rescue training could have killed this man after he was safely back aboard his boat.We all regard a man-overboard situation as a priority emergency.

Time is always “of the essence”, cold water makes it even more so.  The small window of opportunity available to find, recover, and maybe revive a victim is quite small and training needs to reflect a higher level of awareness as to what can and cannot be utilized during a rescue.  The last thing we need is to manage the first three steps successfully and fail in the end because we didn’t follow the course of action that may have saved the victim’s life.

The N.M.A Newsletter’s story relates how a large individual (5’9″ at 260 lb.s) is recovered from 39*F water.  The efforts expended by 2 large men to pull this soaking wet victim from the water was nearly a failed effort due to the loosely fitted P.F.D. and girth of the man.  He was too cold to assist in his rescue, and more to the point, too heavy to be pulled from the water, he was waterlogged and the one thing that may have aided his rescue was in danger of slipping off.  Until more help arrived, this man was not getting out of the water.

As the story continues, the help arrives and he is pulled aboard only to be put into another life threatening situation by his rescuers.  He was stripped of his clothing and put in a shower to be rewarmed.  The absolute wrong thing to do! His next trip may very well have been to the morgue, the swift rewarming in the shower may well have caused a dump of the colder blood in his arms and legs and caused cardiac failure in moments.  This is not what should be done to assist a hypothermia victim.  The victim’s body mass may have protected his core temperature for a longer time, but his extremities were cooling quickly.

The link provided here has a few of the methods used by professionals when treating a hypothermia victim and none of the methods listed allow for a quick rewarming in any situation.  The most effective means includes warmed and moist oxygen and wrapping the victim in layers of blankets.  The method of sharing body heat from a rescuer is NOT considered the proper method to rewarm a cold water victim..

Basic First Aid training seldom goes far enough when it comes to hypothermia.  Beyond describing its effect and how to recognize it, there are too many remedies passed along like “old wive’s tales” that are potentially deadly in a real world situation.  Here’s a fact, if the cold blood in the limbs is dumped into the core by a rapid rewarming, a heart-attack is nearly guaranteed, regardless of the victims age.

The most important phase of treatment is the prevention of post-rescue collapse during the first 30 minutes following rescue, and during transportation to a medical facility.

Some recommended methods of treatment are difficult to apply in the workplace.  The lack of enough crew to actually pull the victim from the water.  Handling the victim to keep them oriented horizontally will be problematic since most victims will not necessarily be all that co-operative.  They may try to help, but in doing so will force cooled blood into their core and risk further complications.  Moving limbs will pump cold blood, this is a bad thing until the victim is properly rewarmed.  Warm sweet drinks (hot chocolate is a good one, not coffee) will help but the real answer lies in getting professional help as quickly as possible and minimizing the further cooling of the victim.  Wrap them in blankets, but don’t try to get them warmed up all at once.

IN NO CASE SHOULD HOT SHOWERS OR BATHS BE USED

It can’t be emphasized enough how we need to understand cold water immersion and prudent prevention and rescue methods.  The link to Cold Water Boot Camp was very useful for illustrating the effects of cold water, but it fell short when it comes to after the rescue.  If you’re going to wear a Personal Floatation Device, why wouldn’t you wear it correctly?  It takes 30 seconds to properly fit the device, and it will be of use when someone tries to pull you from the water.   Bear in mind that although Spring is here in the Northeast, the surface water temps won’t rise above “bone chilling cold” until August.

Mario Vittone, a name known to most of us these days has put himself into the water, suffered the effects of hypothermia and recovery in highly controlled experiments for our benefit.  The lessons learned have been freely shared and we can be grateful he suffered in our place for the cause of educating rescuers to the reality of the effects of cold water.

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NVIC 4-08, and what it may mean to the working mariner.

I have the pleasure of starting the renewal process for issue #7 this January. At five months prior to my license’s expiration date, I’ll begin the renewal gauntlet using the new USCG National Maritime Center.
In gathering the necessary information and lining up my documents I had a few questions regarding the new Medical Review Officer’s needs and how much time it might add to the ordeal.
The way I read the new NVIC regarding the number of conditions considered and the new review criteria gave me grave concerns that the process was headed south in the worst way. Every renewal request is required to be taken under review by a medical review officer, and then sent along its way in the process. My concern was delays may end up being even more ridiculous, I mean, have you read the thing?

I was initially reluctant to get into it with some drone in the center but it turns out I was pleasantly greeted and all my questions accommodated with clear and straightforward answers. Fancy that!
Here’s what I found out.
(I’ve included this link to the newest flier published by the USCG in regard to the new review system.)
In a nutshell, nothing has changed, except for a few key bits of advice.
When you submit your documents for renewal the form CG-719k needs to be supplied and current. I was informed that if you are healthy and taking no prescription medications, you should fly through the medical review on the first round provided all the T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted. Make sure the form is properly filled out and signed. Specific reference was made regarding the color sense test. The boxes indicating the Ishihara plate edition or whatever plates used should be checked on the form.
If you’re on ANY prescription medications you’ll need to be honest about them and list all of them. The little bit of advice I received regarded background data, you should provide an addendum to the form from your prescribing physician (preferably on his stationary). The addendum should state the condition being treated and that it’s under control and include your physician’s contact information. As long as the condition is not one of the big 5 you should breeze through more quickly than if a request for clarifying info is necessary.

The top 5 reasons for denial include:
1. Implantable cardiac defibrillators; cardiomyopathy.
2. Medications: chronic use of narcotics/
amphetamines/benzodiazepines.
3. Uncontrolled diabetes.
4. Mental health: psychotic disorders; uncontrolled
Bipolar disorder.
5. Uncontrolled sleep disorders.

But the main thing here is that since the new system is all we’ve got, you’ve got no options but to try and make it as easy on the M.R.O. as possible.
From all I could discern during my conversation with the center I can say that you’ll be flagged for further review without the addendum if you take a prescription medication.
The likelihood you’ll be denied is remote unless you fall under the category of one of the 5 big ones. As in 1 tenth of one percent.

So go forth and renew, but be aware that the new regimen is centralized and likely to add a bit of time to the process. By adding another set of eyes to the many that must review your renewal package its logical to expect things to take a little more time.

I’ll keep everyone up to date on how it goes.

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