Our heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and family of Chester “Chet” Robinson who suffered cardiac arrest shortly after reboarding his boat following a dive on the USS Oriskany last Saturday. The general consensus is that his passing was not directly related to the dive itself, but stemmed from pre-existing heart conditions. I happened to be monitoring channel 16 on our Regal during a break from photographing the Emerald Coast Poker Run and heard the land side of the Coast Guard response. Hearing the exchange made me think about handling on-water medical emergencies - especially one that might incapacitate the primary “captain”.

Due to our distance from Pensacola, we were unable to here radio calls from the Wellcraft used to transport Mr Robinson back to Pensacola but we could hear communications from both the Pensacola and Destin Coast Guard stations. Both stations seemed calm and professional (as one would expect) as they coordinated helicopter, vessel, and land support for the emergency. Most calls regarded establishing the Wellcraft’s current position and heading to support interception by the Coast Guard. They also asked for the intended docking point so as to have an ambulance on sight.

Important Considerations

GPS - while many of us are comfortable operating without GPS inshore or even near shore, in an emergency nothing conveys position nearly as well. Of course a GPS tied to a DSC radio would be even better so that the distress position is automatically broadcast to other boats and the Coast Guard. With respect to GPS,

- Do you and your primary “back-ups” know how to find the current Lattitude and Longitude quickly?

- Communicate that position over the radio? ie is your display in Degrees, Degrees-Minutes, or Degrees-Minutes-Seconds? The Coast Guard will likely sort it out, but it can be a time saver.

Marine Radio -

How many of your passengers know how to use the marine radio?

Make a simple distress or position report?

Activate the DSC distress call (if so equiped)?

First Aid - We enjoy boating for its ability to get us “away from it all” - but all also includes quick emergency response.

CPR -Early reports on the Oriskany death indicate Mr. Robinson did receive CPR from his crew - do you or your passengers know basic CPR?

First Aid Kit - While not so much an issue for heart trouble, 1st Aid supplies or their improvisation can be critical for an on-water injury situation.

Boat Handling - Could a passenger-

Start the engines?

Drive the boat?

Dock, even badly?

If you frequently boat with the same passengers (family and friends), it’s probably a good idea that they get some training even if they don’t have a strong interest in driving all the time.

As the statistics show, boating is quite safe as recreational activities go, but a little preparation can go a long way towards a good outcome when accident or injury does occur.

News Coverage:
WPMI NBC 15
WJHG
Pensacola News Journal

Related Posts:

USS Oriskany Underwater Video Posted at MBTDivers.com

USS Oriskany Wall Calendar - A Year of Great Photos

USS Oriskany to be Sunk Next Week

‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin Killed by Stingray

Three Divers Killed While Diving USS Spiegel Grove

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 26th, 2006 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Day-to-Day Boating, In the News, Boating Places, Boats, Regal 2760, Dive Sites, How-To & Troubleshooting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.