A slightly different throwback...

3 days ago
4 min read

Today's post is something slightly different. For most of the 'noughties' I worked in pre-hospital emergency care - as flight medic on helicopters, doing mountain and sea rescue, working at sea, first on Cruise Ships and later on the Oil Rigs. Part of the job description in all of these is knowing how to save yourself (and then others) in case of a helicopter crashing into the ocean.

This meant doing Helicopter Underwater Escape Training, where they essentially 'ditch' a fake helicopter into the water and you need to escape. There was obviously a technique to it - when the call came, place one hand on the seatbelt buckle, and the other hand on the window - AND DON'T LET GO!

Then they flipped the fuselage. It felt a bit disorientating. Wait until the fuselage stopped moving, then wait a bit more - I want to think it was to a count of seven. It felt forever. Then, unbuckle and escape (sounds so simple...)

Unbuckling a 'safety seat belt clip' when you are dangling upside down is tricky. The one time I was struggling and I let go with my hand on the window to get the buckle loose. I had no idea which way to go, and neither which way is up and away. And all it took was a milli-second to completely lose my way.

Fortunately, there were rescue divers that were observing us. But...this was a test that you had to pass in order to get the job, so if you 'failed' you had to repeat this until you got it right. I always felt incredibly sorry for the guys that couldn't swim, and the stress they experienced. It is scary, and the hardest part for these guys were to controlling their panic.

This type of training is exactly to unlearn the 'usual behaviours' such as using both hands to unbuckle a tricky buckle, or too panic and release too early - whilst the rotors are still moving in a real helicopter crash. And to learn how to control your fear.

Obviously it becomes easier and you can 'game' it after a few times, which we did - by wearing black out goggles, and competing on who can wait the longest before undoing the buckle, still you knew you were fairly safe with the divers around and being in a pool.

The years of doing this type of training exercises and working in emergency care has been fundamental to how I approach risk - most of us that has worked in the field all have weird relationships with risk where we are either completely risk averse or reckless- there is no middle ground. This could be because we've seen the consequences of people under-estimating risk or over-estimating ability. So when I get into the sea, I'm super aware of the risks. And it sometimes concerns me when I feel that people are a bit too casual.

About to be ditched, you can see two rescue divers in the water and an instructor giving instructions in the front.

So here is some of the tips I think it is important for our swimriser group.

There is usually a group of us at about 7 am, and even though I am sometimes tempted to do my won thing, there is safety in numbers. If you are going in earlier or going out a bit on your own, tell people.
If you are planning on swimming a bit further out, have a buddy and remember your floatie. Drowning or getting into trouble is as easy as getting a cramp, or panicking when a seal is around.
Check the tide...there is usually a pattern to the sets or the tide, check that out before going into the water or before going in deep.
It is okay not to go in too deep, especially when there's big waves. I don't particularly like being dumped by the waves, and I will do it if I'm need to say I'm actually doing a swim, but for our bobbing sessions, I really don't see the need to fight the big waves - and that is okay. I also usually swim after a workout and just feel that I'm happy to fight waves when I feel strong, not when my muscles are already a bit tired.
I don't wear a swim cap, but if you are investing in one, make it bright so that you can be seen.
Listen to your body, if you feel cold or you are shivering get out. The data on the duration of a cold water varies, but there is a fair amount of evidence that less than 10 minutes is enough. And if you can't get to 10 minutes, build it up.
Be respectful of the ocean, its animals and temperaments... Never forget your surroundings.