Originally Posted by KenD

Like a lot of people, at one time I thought that you needed a helicopter to get the Safety/Rescue Divers in the water as quickly as possible. That was before I was enlightened by someone on the Safety/Rescue team and told that deployment of the personnel from the helicopter should be the last thing to expect in the event of an incident. I’m sure my face had the same bewildered look that many who are reading this have. As my eyes lost their daze, my Safety Angel explained:

On-water Safety/Rescue would be the first in the water to assist in an extraction…if necessary…and helicopter personnel would only jump if additional assistance was not available from other on-water resources. The helicopter personnel would stay in the air in case they where needed at another incident later.

I had never really thought about it…but it does make sense….once the helicopter divers are in the water, they can’t just get back in the helicopter and be ready for the next incident. Once they jump from the helicopter, the resource is expended and they are no longer avalible for the rest of the race. However, on-water personnel can re-board their Safety/Rescue boat to continue their watch and be ready for the next incident.

The Safety Angle explained that the primary advantage of a helicopter is that it can get from one location on the racecourse to another very quickly. This quick response time reduces the number of Safety/Rescue teams needed to meet the anticipated response time to an incident. The larger and more turns in the racecourse, the more Safety/Rescue teams you need to cover it. That's one reason why SBI prefers the rectangular box racecourse...it's safer than the multi-turn courses. So…the bottom line is...if you have a helicopter, you don’t need as many Safety/Rescue teams on the water.

In order to adequately cover a racecourse, at least one Safety/Rescue team should be able to get to any part of the racecourse in less than…I think he said…three minutes. Safety/Rescue teams are normally stationed near the turns, because that is where most incidents occur.

At races like New York,(a rectangular box racecourse) where there aren’t any helicopters, the response time stays the same. The only difference is the number of Safety/Rescue teams assigned to boats stationed around the racecourse. In New York, there are enough Safety/Rescue boats that a minimum of two boats can respond to any location on the racecourse within the targeted time.

I was told that the main thing to rememberis…the primary objective is to get to an incident as quickly as possible…it’s all about response time…not how the Safety/Rescue team gets there.

I trust these guys…they are professionals…and if our Safety Team says the racecourse is safe…it’s safe….even if I wouldn’t drink the water.

Originally Posted by Wazzup Racing

Funny Guy, I am on my way to Ohio. Ya never know.