Rescue - Going Hi-Tech

by BW Media on 12 Jul 2008 As sailing boats are getting more and more high tech, so are the rescue boats, with much more sophisticated capabilities every year - which should make coastal sailors more comfortable about how long a rescue might take, if ever there were need.

Over in Massachusetts USA, the Chatham Coast Guard are looking pretty pleased about their new acquisition. According to the Robin Lord of the Cape Cod Times, it's the newest boat in the Coastguard fleet.

'It's the latest and greatest,' Chief Petty Officer Dave Pierias said as he sat in the black cushioned navigator's seat of the new boat at the Chatham Fish Pier.

The boat, which was built by Safe Boat International in Port Orchard, Wash., is so new, the crew in Chatham will be helping to write its user manual.

The new search-and-rescue craft is designed to carry 14 to 20 people and has a watertight hold under the bow for survivors of an ocean accident.

The aluminum cabin is also watertight and the boat is self-righting.

Coping with shifting shoals and shallow water requires the Coast Guard to have a search-and-rescue boat with an extremely low draft. The new boat has a draft of just 2 feet 8 inches.

The boat is also fully computerized and electronic — no steering wheel here, just joy stick-type mechanisms on each of the four seats.

There are other differences between the new vessel and the one it replaced.

For starters, the 42-foot boat can drive in surf as high as 15 feet, while its predecessor was limited to 10-foot surf. And it can power through 50-knot winds, about 10 knots more than the previous vessel.

The new search-and-rescue boat is designed as a 'near-shore' vessel, but it can venture up to 50 nautical miles from the harbour.