Re: Peninsula Windsurfing Assoc. April meeting minutes

From: Will Estes (westes@usc.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Tue Apr 04 1995 - 16:53:56 PDT


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From: Will Estes <westes@usc.com-DeleteThis>
Message-Id: <9504042353.AA15442@usc.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: Re: Peninsula Windsurfing Assoc. April meeting minutes
To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 16:53:56 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <199504042320.QAA13470@Breakaway.Stanford.EDU-DeleteThis> from "Jeff Hodges" at Apr 4, 95 04:25:26 pm
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'Jeff Hodges says:'
> 2. Safety Committee Report - Doug Bogalite (sp) who pilots the helicopter for
> the USCG out of SFO spoke to us for a few minutes - he's also a boardsailor.
> He helped to set expectations as to how calls to the Coast Guard are
> handled and what it took to get clearance for him to be dispatched. He cannot
> fly without orders from CG HQ in Los Angeles. Cost of operation, about
> $4000/hr. is a major consideration. They will first attempt to conduct a boat
> rescue using boats dispatched from: Golden Gate, Treasure Island, Mare Island
> or Rio Vista.

Since I've seen this whole process in action a few times, it's worth
mentioning that it takes a surprisingly long time before a copter
shows up. First a volunteer shows up on the shoreline to assess the
condition. Then he radios in and dispatches boats. Then, after a
long delay, a boat shows up. Then, after further delays, you finally
get a copter.

The moral of this is that if you have a true emergency that warrants a
copter, you need to do two things: 1) Call it in early, because the
system is such that it will be a while before a copter really shows
up. If you have a friend lost in the channel wearing a shorty
wetsuit, with no strobe, and it's 45 minutes before sundown, you don't
wait until 15 minutes before sundown to place your call. It's too late
by then.

2) If you have the judgement to make the call that this is really a
situation that warrants a copter, you need to state this in no
uncertain terms. Otherwise if you just say things like "we have a
sailor in the channel", you fall into their triage system, and you get the
long delays. Last year there was some guy who broke his femur and
was being attended to in the channel. That would be a situation where
moving him would be quite dangerous, and time would be of the essence.
For a situation like that, you tell the operator something like "There
is a sailor with a broken femur in the sailing channel. This might be
a life-threatening situation where time is of the essence. Please get
a chopper here ASAP." Even then, you'll probably have to argue the
point with them. But don't mince your words.

You also need to exercise judgment about when a Coast Guard call is
necessary at all. If you have a friend down in the channel who needs
a tow, you get him a tow; you don't call the Coast Guard.

> needed. Though it was pointed out that there are many situations where help
> would be good, but the CG isn't required. The CG will respond to cellular calls
> and Doug suggested calling the CG directly (versus 911). He will get that
> number for us.

>From my address book:

Coast Guard 415-556-4471 emergency calls only
                        415-399-3447 administrative

DON'T make information calls on the emergency number!

-- 
Thanks,
Will Estes              Internet: westes@usc.com-DeleteThis
U.S. Computer           Saratoga, CA  95070



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