* About PDF Documents

SAR NEWS

East coast search and rescue mission brings three home

By Jill St. Marseille - 9 Wing Gander / Aviation.ca.

103 Search and Rescue (SAR) Squadron from 9 Wing Gander was called to duty on October 23 when a satellite system picked up a distress beacon of a fishing vessel off the coast of Newfoundland.

Once on scene, approximately 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of Fogo Island or 100 miles (160 kilometres) north of Gander, the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter crew could not locate the vessel, the Seafaring Legend, as it had already gone under, so the crew then searched for a life raft. Despite unfavourable at-sea conditions, they found two.

“The winds were approximately 35 knots (65 km/h) and we assessed the sea state to be the equivalent to a sea state seven, which in general terms means 15 to 20 foot (4.5 to 6 meter) swells,” said Major Steve Reid, Aircraft Commander on the mission.

These kinds of conditions cause particular grief for search and rescue crews when searching for a life raft is involved. “The wind and the sea state is what made it the most challenging. A life raft in the water can be challenging even when it’s dead calm with no wind so the sea state definitely added to the difficulty of performing the mission,” said Sergeant Morgan Biderman, a 103 Sqn search and rescue technician (SAR Tech).

The first life raft held one member of the Seafaring Legend. He was successfully hoisted off the life raft and into the helicopter. Once inside, he alerted the crew that there was a second life raft with two occupants on board. It was found, along with two other survivors of the sunken vessel. The second hoist caused more problems than the first one, but thanks to a highly efficient and adaptable team, a new approach to the situation was taken.

“The second was very difficult to maintain a hover because of the speed at which the life raft was moving,” said Sergeant Kent Guilliford, SAR Tech. “We had no frame of reference for the pilot up front so they were flying “blind”. The crew opted to switch to a technique where the flight engineer had limited control of the aircraft. As opposed to telling the pilots where to fly, the flight engineer actually can maneuver the aircraft with a joystick, called “hover trim control”.

“[During such a procedure], the altitude remains the same, but the flight engineer can move the aircraft forward and back, left to right. He was not only hoisting me down vertically, he was also moving the aircraft simultaneous toward the life raft. Hats off to him for taking that much on. It’s something that the flight engineers are able to do and it amazes that they’re able to do that time and time again.”

Three of the four men aboard the vessel were safely rescued. The body of the fourth man aboard the Seafaring Legend was recovered and returned to shore.

It was a busy weekend for 103 Squadron as the same crew also answered a call to search for two missing Newfoundland hunters. They were eventually found deceased.

 Table of Contents

Lifesaving Society translates essential drowning prevention information into 26 languages

RBC Foundation funding helps swimming safety tips reach more Ontarians

TORONTO, ON – The Lifesaving Society has partnered with RBC to translate important drowning prevention information into 26 additional languages in an effort to reach out to new immigrant parents in Ontario. The charitable organization is now offering important details about Swim to Survive, the children’s drowning prevention program, in multiple languages, including: Chinese, Hindu, Italian, Punjabi, Urdu, Russian and Portuguese.

The massive translation project is part of the Lifesaving Society’s ongoing commitment to teach all children about the importance of water safety and drowning prevention skills. The translated information package includes a letter explaining the Swim to Survive program during school time, a handout explaining why all children should learn basic survival swimming skills, and a letter at the end of the program detailing what the children have learned and the importance of enrolling their children in additional swimming instruction. It is directed to parents and guardians, and until now, had only been available in English and French.

Barbara Byers, Public Education Director for the Lifesaving Society, says it was critical to reach out to new Canadians who don’t use English or French as their primary language. “We know that more than 125,000 newcomers immigrate to Ontario each year,” Byers states. “It was essential that we reach Ontarians in multiple languages about programs offered for drowning prevention, to ensure that the growing immigrant population, many of whom may have little knowledge or experience with recreational swimming and water safety, have the tools to help safeguard their children.”

The translation efforts would not have been possible without a recent $18,000 grant from the RBC Foundation, which allowed the Lifesaving Society to convert the Swim to Survive parent information package into the following languages: Arabic; Chinese; Czech; Farsi; Greek; Gujarati; Hindi; Hungarian; Italian; Khmer; Korean; Macedonian; Pashto; Polish; Portuguese; Punjabi; Romanian; Russian; Somali; Spanish; Tagalog; Tamil; Twi; Ukrainian; Urdu and Vietnamese. “RBC has a long-standing commitment to diversity, welcoming new Canadians and doing our part to enable their success,” said Tony DePascal, RBC’s Vice President, Commercial Financial Services – Peel Supply Chain. “From financial advice to safety information, RBC knows it is important to remove language barriers and ensure equal access to information. We welcome this opportunity to support Canada’s diverse communities by helping the Lifesaving Society to ensure this crucial safety information is fully accessible to all.”

According to Byers, access to Swim to Survive is especially significant for new Canadians living in Ontario. “Ontario has the most culturally diverse population in Canada, with more than one in four residents born outside the country. Because this province has an abundance of fresh water, swimming lessons and drowning prevention techniques are especially important here.” The Swim to Survive program is funded by the Ministry of Education and other partners, and launched in 2005. Through elementary schools, it teaches children in grade three the minimum standard of swimming ability for survival after an unexpected fall into the water. Since it began, more than 200,000 children have completed the program.

Swim to Survive teaches children three basic skills in sequence: roll into deep water; tread water for one minute; and swim 50 metres (Lifesaving statistics show that most people who drown are less than 15 metres from shore or safety). It is not meant as a replacement for standard swimming lessons; however, the program is an important first step to being safe around water, and could make the difference between life and death when immersion in water is sudden and unexpected.

According to the 2009 Ontario Drowning Report Update, released in the summer by the Lifesaving Society, nearly 500 Canadians die each year in water-related incidents. The number of water-related deaths in Ontario is on the rise. In Ontario in 2005 (most recent statistics), there were 164 deaths, or 33 percent of the national total. There were 492 deaths by drowning in Canada in 2005, a 14 percent increase over 2004. Ontario led the way with a 24 percent increase.

For more information, please visit www.lifesavingsociety.com.

 Table of Contents

New SAR vehicles in Nunavut

Twelve Argo Avenger 750 EFi all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have been delivered to 12 Nunavut communities in order to help with their search and rescue needs. These ATVs have been built in Ontario and are amphibian.

The new additions were provided through the International Polar Year Fund, which is an internationally coordinated campaign of research in polar regions. It involves a wide range of research disciplines and aims to educate and involve the public, as well as train future scientists, engineers and leaders.

 Table of Contents