PADDLER 25
RIO
We have already done several exercises and safety drills with Captain Ruben and his crew. We love to mention the series on Rescue Exercises( four parts, including one with the RIO) in previous editions of The Paddler( https:// paddlerezine. com / dimitrisrescue1). By this time, we have conducted even more exercises with similar ships: the DC BRUGGE with Captain Stefan and his crew and the SCALD with Captain Ward and his crew.
We must point out the mutual respect between us and professional shipping to understand how we got to this cooperation, which is unseen and unheard of. We know these people carry very high safety standards and must train( mandatory) themselves in different onboard safety aspects. On the other hand, they know that we aren’ t lost tourists and that we train continuously on safety drills. We can tell you the following to answer a question we get a lot of,“ How do you come to these cooperations?” We already have a“ No!” for an answer; we can only get a“ Yes!” So we dare to ask, straight to the point, without caring what people might or might not think of us.
The answer is, in most cases, surprisingly positive. By now, we have a lot to show professional crews about how we work. We are like sponges, listening and looking at them. And to our surprise, they do the same: listening and looking at us. We dare to ask the right questions, daring to ask ourselves how to improve our safety. We always ensure that it is a two-way story and that all parties gain by working together.
By now, we have made a video of every training we did, highlighting every piece of extra information that can improve the safety of sea kayakers. We will discuss our most recent activities. We emphasise that we carry out a thorough risk assessment before each exercise. We will only highlight the most important things. Although some things might look spectacular, we never do anything without reason or over-thinking twice. All exercises, with no exceptions, were reported in advance to our Coast Guard.
Boarding a moving ship with low freeboard: www. youtube. com / watch? v = RCZHWQF7sB0
We thank Bernine, Johan, and Jean-Marc for the splendid pictures. They were at the right place at the right time. The same goes for team member Sylvie, who has to do the extra job while performing rescues.
Boarding a ship with high freeboard: www. youtube. com / watch? v = hN07ydicAYE
PADDLER 25