SSHSAR–NEWSLETTER               

First-Aid and Marine Rescue

Issue NBR 3 Non periodical

ILF Membership

SSH SAR is now an official member of the ILF (International Lifeboat Federation), which reflects the high quality services, and ability of SAR lifeboats and crew in the past period.

 

Hurgada SAR Opening

The SAR base in Hurgada will start its operation in April 2003; it will be located in the "Tourist Jetty" in front of the Naval Hyper baric center and close to Hurgada’s main medical facilities.

Its strategical location will enable SAR to adequately cover the area from Gubal Island in the North to Sah’l Hashish in the South.

The SAR station will be equipped with three 6mtr RIB’s similar to the ones you are familiar with in Sharm el Sheik. These boats have proven their capacity in rapid all –weather interventions and shallow draft enabling them to access all reef areas. Next phase will focus on 2 new stations in Nusrani and Dahab

 

Who’s out there?

Ever wondered who is out there 24/7 on stand by for the safety of all sea users from Nabeq north to Sha’ab Ali in the strait of Gubal ?

You regularly see the SAR RIBs with three men dressed in red & blue going really fast, putting their life on the line to help and assist another life.

Well lets start by the founder of SSHSAR, Hamdy (Sam) an experienced Navigator, professional diver with 26 years of diving under his belt, with a target of setting up a SAR network to cover all of the Red Sea from Dahab to Halaieb. By the way, he is the designer and builder of the Rescue boats used by SAR.

Sameh Halawa, Ground Control, without this man the dry part of the job is impossible, he is the one who takes care of patients after they are delivered to land and coordinates with the medical facilities appropriate to the condition of the patient. He will take care of all the paperwork and details until everything is done. He is a Go Kart expert so beware when you meet him on the road.

Ahmed S, Rescue Leader, always on the RIB, a diving instructor with experience of the Red Sea, medically trained to provide First Aid under any condition, with experience in Navigation, S&R and boat handling. He is the one who will wrap you up on the boat!

Wael and Nasser, RIB Pilots and Rescuers, they were Rescue personnel in Alexandria, working in the North coats of Egypt as Life Guards on Jet Skies, 3 years of experience doing this job in the water of the Mediterranean Sea, and both are medically trained.

Ahmed H, our ex-Navy man, spent 2 years on a Naval Vessel in the Red Sea, an excellent Pilot, and like the rest, medically trained.

 

Type of Maritime emergencies

· Lost at sea

· Diving related injuries

· Swimmers related injuries

· Multiple casualty situations

· Injury to a crew member or passenger (Trauma)

· Emergency evacuation

· SAR does not intervene in seasickness situations; our Rescue boats will be even harder on inexperienced guests.

· SAR does not act as beach lifeguards and does not participate in shore drowning incidents.

 

Lost at Sea

On the night of August 11, 2001 SAR received a VHF distress call from MV The Rock, an Egyptian daily diving boat. The vessel had lost its engines power and was at the mercy of heavy seas south of Sanafir Island with 12 people on Board. This was the time where the Search And Rescue just started operating and was keen in doing "any" rescue intervention. At that time the center was only equipped with a single RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) and had no limitations of coverage areas or type of distresses. The team was also still in formation and training was still freshly provided.

SAR team launched during the night of August the 11th and got mid-way when the radio communications informed us that the MFO vessel had already reached the location and was starting transferring the 12 people on board of its own vessel. We were out at sea listening and participating to these conversations under a furry of water and wind. Eventually the situation ended up with the saving of all passengers and the loss of "the Rock" who had spliced its superstructure from the hull and was wrecked. Next day SAR was requested to do a GPS fix on both hull and superstructure to inform the marine authorities of any potentially dangerous floating debris. This is the beginning of the story!

We embarked early morning at about 6 am with the skipper of "the rock", a coast guard trainee, a certified high seas captain and SAR Sharm founder. After completing a 5 hours search patterns taking us more than 70 nautical miles south of Sharm El Sheikh

The RIB finally manages to locate the debris of the superstructure and to fix its location. The sea was high and it was still early in the morning. After checking the wreckage and taking pictures of the situation, the RIB main engine suddenly stopped.

After a while trying to restart the engine, we lost battery power and could not start the engine manually. We then turned ourselves to the secondary emergency engine, which was unfortunately not properly checked and missed some essential connections to be able to operate. At about 12h00 am the situation was clearly desperate. 4 people on board, 4 bottles of water, 2 packs of cigarettes, 3 packs of biscuits and far away from any land to be able to launch a distress call.

We had two portable battery operated VHF radios, a portable GPS, to which we owe our lives. We started emitting SOS and MAYDAY calls until we lost the power of the first radio keeping the other one as a backup. After several hours we could see out in the distance the blur of a cargo vessel approaching! We all had regained hope and starting emitting the same distress signals while giving our GPS location. Slowly the vessel was approaching and our ordeal was getting to an end.

Despite our calls and the approaching of the vessel, radio kept silent and we could not establish a proper communication with the vessel. Half an hour later the vessel stopped its engines and kept immobile at about 1,5 mile from our position. We could see some movement on the bridge and kept calling for help. We shouted our despair and started waving to confirm our distress not knowing if they were hearing our radio calls. Despite all of these genuine actions, we could see that the fumes were coming out of the vessel, which started moving again. We then could not understand what was happening and could not imagine such a behavior.

Clearly the Captain of the vessel was tacking the decision of not responding to our distress and abandoning us at sea.

It took us some time to overcome this situation but our astonishment of the human nature had thought us something new! We took the commitment to assist people at sea. To make it our duty to be there when there is a need… what a disappointment!! Anyhow we were definitely lost at sea.

We all took our clothes off due to extreme high temperatures, we cared for each other to overcome sea sickness and the like, we took corners to think about ourselves and our families, we were thinking about what would happen if we would never to return.

Meanwhile in Sharm, Hurgada, Back home and everywhere, people were starting to get worried. People were reacting and communications between the authorities were getting closer. All vessels were informed about our disappearance but did not know where we were. Our people back at base were trying their best.

After 6 hours of being lost at sea, the left battery power of our radio managed to send the last distress call before sunset. With the feeling of a miracle, our call was picked up and, the catamaran EID TRAVEL on its way back from Saudi Arabia, answered our distress. It took some time for them to locate us due to our small size and not reflecting on their radar’s but the GPS did the job.

The Captain told us very clearly that they were rescuing us and not the boat. With our feet on the dry and a hot cup of coffee in our hands our choices were clear.

We abandoned the RIB at the mercy of the sea and headed back with a feeling of immense relief and gratitude towards our saviors. Back in Sharm our authorities received us and did not spare us the usual "you should have" but showed us their great support and how they really tried and effectively managed to play a major role in our safe return. We all finally managed to go back home and happy to be alive.

This story taught us a lot and has been a contributing part to the professional approach, which is now in place. After this ordeal SAR was properly restructured and a line of communication was established with all authorities to ensure proper backup.

We will not forget to thank all the people who helped but are too extensive to list and with whom we are now friends.

We kept searching for our rescue boat for months and heard so many stories that it was found and then lost again. Six month later we receive a letter from the Saudi coast guards informing us about the founding of the rescue RIB.

After a short period of negotiations and with the help of our ministry of foreign affairs, the Saudi government returned us the boat with a courtesy that had to be told and without a penny. They were so great that everyone should know that across the strait of Tiran there are some very nice people. The rescue boat is now lying in the port of Hurghada for the last eight months or so.

Despite so much effort done we are unable to return the boat due to some customs bureaucratic details. Our hope is still there to one day seeing this boat back in sharm at the service of its cause. This boat has a story now and we can extend our hope again.

THE LOST RIB – NOW LYING IN HURGHADA

 

Top most bizarre accidents! New

· An Italian diver had a crush on a Lion Fish, so he decided to give it a hug! You can imagine the rest

· A kite surfer on a liveaboard runs into a rock in the middle of the sea near South Geisum Island, just a broken hand and some bruises

· On new years eve, midnight 30 a young Russian lady fell from Hadaba cliff down on Ras Kati reef. The 8 meter fall left her with some bruises and a broken arm. She was found kissing her boyfriend !

 

Recommendations and safety tips

· Instruct your clients onboard to take care while moving around especially in heavy seas, and always keep one hand on the boat while its moving

· Instruct your clients not to sit in the bow area in heavy seas

· Instruct your clients to take additional care when using all of the boats ladders, and always keep both hands on it while going up or down, and to face the ladder

· During drift dives, make sure that all of your clients know how to use the stern ladder, if the sea is too rough, another calm site is preferable

· Always carry a cylinder of O2 and a well equipped 1st Aid box on all outings, even if it’s a snorkeling boat

· Always count the clients on the boat prior to departure from the dive site, and also count other dive guides and videographers and other unaccounted passengers

· It is highly recommended to cancel a dive destination in case of heavy sea, and limit yourself to a calm close area (if Tiran is too rough Nusrani is a good option)

· Keep all your clients hydrated

· A ratio of 8 guests to 1 guide is highly recommended

· Dividing your clients into smaller groups of the same certification level is highly recommended, and stick to the limitations of that certification (OW 18m, AOW30m.Etc)

· Do not perform deep air dives unless the clients are certified to do so and are covered

· Keep clear from VHF channel 16, its an international calling channel

· Choosing a calm site with a mooring for training purposes is highly recommended. (AOW deep dive, under a mooring line. Etc)

· Always have a dive guide with any group of divers even if they are highly qualified (he can always follow and have a fun dive)

· Usage of an SMB is highly recommended on drift dives and in crowded areas such as Ras Mohammed and Tiran (it keeps glass bottom boats away from you head)

 

A perfect Reaction New

This part is dedicated to those who have saved a life out at sea.

- A very calm day at Shark reef, perfect conditions for a nice easy drift dive along its vertical wall. The whole group of divers were really excited about the dive, gearing up, following the instruction of the dive guides, buddy check done, down they go!

At 20m, the current was pulling down, the group was struggling to stay at the same level, one of the divers, a young lady, could not take it anymore, she blacked out.

The dive guide (Andrew) in seconds was there, placing her regulator in, taking her to the surface while opening her airway, at the same time the other guide (Nasser) handled the rest of the clients and guided them during the dive, he kept them, away from the accident scene.

Surface rescue procedures were done perfectly, SAR was called immediately, and it took 22min from the call to have the victim from Shark reef to the HMC. The woman’s life was saved in a record time, due to Andrew and Nasser’s perfect reaction, preparation and handling of the accident.

Congratulations to Andrew and Nasser from Camel Dive Club for their excellent job.

- Another perfect reaction goes to Wendy from Divers International for saving a life of a woman out at sea, she found the victim on the surface with no pulse or breathing, she did a perfect job, CPR got the woman back to life, the fast call to SAR saved lots of valuable time for the victim’s life, Congratulations to Wendy.

 

Special thanks

1- C Fun Divers for helping SAR Rescuers in obtaining their Open Water diver course and providing them with all the equipment and facilities.

2- SSI Egypt for the Certifications of the Rescuers

3- Wolfgang from SSI Egypt and Scuba University for his valuable support

4- Red Sea Diving College for technical support.

5- Jusienka from Diving World for taking care of Storm and Snow our 2 Labradors

6- Goredsea.com for their technical support

 

SAR Visitor Center

SAR visitor center opening is expected to take place with the new 2003 season. It will be featuring a marine exhibition, displaying some rare items in addition to extensive information on Sharm marine surroundings.

Some items such as First Aid Kits, Maps and decorative items will be offered for sale.

 

SAR Launch/Pull Platform fees

SAR center is now equipped with a new electric winch, the land has also been prepared to accommodate heavy loads. For those interested in using the SAR Launch/Pull Platform, a fee will be applied as follows:

LE150 up tp 6mtr boats

LE250 from 6 to 9 meters

50% discount for members

 

SAR CONTACT DETAILS

SSH SAR can be reached through the following ways:

 

EMERGENCY LINE 24/7: 012-313 41 58

TEL: 012-213 60 45        FAX: 069-66 41 48          VHF:  Channel 16

MAIL: rescue@sinainet.com.eg

Address:

SHARM SAR. PO BOX 198, SHARM EL SHEIKH, SOUTH SINAI, EGYPT

 

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