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Irish
Coast Guard Historic |
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Setting the Scene |
THE BREECHES BUOY. This is the actual piece of equipment
that was used to transfer the casualty from the vessel to safety.
It changed very little from 1860 until 1980 when it was superseded
by a strop similar to a helicopter rescue strop. The breeches buoy
was constructed using a circular lifebuoy into which a pair of canvas
breeches were sewn, it should be noted that “Breeches”
was the common name for trousers in the 1800s, it superseded the ‘Petticoat
buoy’ which was a circular lifebuoy with a pair of enclosed
long trousers or a long canvas bag sewn in.
Four ropes were attached to the lifebuoy with an eye at the
top; this was attached to the traveller block that ran along the Jackstay
which in turn was attached to the whip. The empty breeches buoy was
pulled out to the ship, a crew member got in and it was hauled back
to land by the shore party, this continued until all crew were safely
ashore. As smaller, lighter and better lifejackets and survival suits
were introduced, the need for a breeches buoy was reviewed and the
rescue strop was introduced. This consisted of a large buoyant flexible
padded belt attached to two strong webbing straps which had stainless
steel D fittings sewn in the ends. A stainless steel shackle was used
to attach this strop to the traveller block. The person slipped the
strop over the head and under the armpits, tightened the strop using
the collar and held on to the webbing straps. The person was hauled
ashore suspended in the strop. THE NEIL ROBERTSON STRETCHER. In a situation where it is not possible for a casualty to be evacuated using the breeches buoy, a specifically designed stretcher can be used. The Neil Robertson stretcher is carried on most if not all merchant ship’s, it is designed to enable a casualty to be evacuated from any part of a ship without further injury. It has a timber base with canvas flaps which are strengthened with timber slats, they are secured together by ‘quick fit’ clips similar to those used on aircraft seats. The casualty is placed on the base and the canvas flaps folded over and secured with the clips; these hold the casualty secure and prevents movement! The casualty can now be transported anywhere and in any position using the rope handles on the side and ends without fear of moving or further injury. To enable the casualty to be moved horizontally by crane, helicopter or traveller block etc, four webbing strops are supplied which can be clipped on to the rope handles. The other ends of the strops are secured to a stainless steel ring which can be secured to a line or traveller block, this enables the casualty to be moved in complete safety |