Technology
As yachts continue to grow, safe operations aloft become ever more challenging. The J Class Yacht Lionheart's 58m mast height makes for excellent real-world training
that includes the US Coast Guard’s 90m (294ft) three-masted barque Eagle, where Elevated Safety is responsible for leading cadet training for work aloft. What are the magic ingredients that
make the Harken Group’s Safety and Rescue training world class? ‘Our team has been hand selected over 15 years and primarily drawn from first responders, so the comfort level in elevated stress situations is seemingly normal to them,’ says Cogan. ‘We also have experience as an emergency response salvage contractor and our teams have extensive international offshore maritime salvage experience and are comfortable in a marine environment. Coupling that with Harken’s detailed experience in sailing, we saw the unique opportunity to learn from our subject matter experts on both sides and combine skills and knowledge to produce a learning product that can be applied globally through a pre-existing network of professionals who are determined to help and available wherever in the world we need to be.’ He adds: ‘My personal view of world
class isn’t purely based on my impression of our skills being better than anyone else’s, but rather having the necessary pieces in place to deliver and learn with the support of a global network.’ Under Harken’s ownership, Elevated
Safety has grown rapidly and now has operations in Illinois, Colorado and Florida in the US, while its newest office in La Rochelle, France is well placed to run training courses throughout Europe. Today the Harken Group therefore encompasses two domains in which it has world class knowledge and expertise – the marine
62 SEAHORSE
industry, plus safety and rescue. With the two divisions now active in
both North America and Europe, the knowledge and expertise necessary to address the safety issues identified by Harken France and Harken ProCare is now available within the group. It stands to transform procedures for working aloft in all sectors of the marine industry. Elevated Safety in France has
developed a two-day course that covers all the background knowledge and regulatory frameworks associated with safely working at height, use of appropriate equipment and rescue techniques. The course is classroom- based for half a day and on boats for the other day and a half. Key premises include a double
protection method for mast work, with specific protocols for deck operators and those aloft to follow that were specifically developed for work at height when afloat. There’s also a rescue method that can be implemented if a person aloft is unable to descend without assistance. The importance of this element should not be underestimated. In addition to more obvious risks of illness or injury, being suspended aloft for more than a few minutes has potential to lead to so-called suspension syndrome or trauma, in which blood circulation around the body is impaired and may eventually lead to a loss of consciousness. At the time of writing, the first courses
for professional riggers have taken place in France, led by training director Alex
Gomez de Miranda, a professional firefighter with significant rope rescue expertise. ‘We started with pro riggers because they were very receptive to the safety issues,’ says Masse. ‘and the certification is also useful for their insurance, which creates an additional incentive for them.’ They have also trained the crew of
the 43m (142ft) J Class yacht Lionheart. ‘There's almost a gap in our industry as there really aren't clear standards of safe practice,’ says first mate Alex Tower. ‘So it's cool that Harken has bought Elevated Safety and now they're bringing professional training back to sailors.’ ‘There are a lot of practices we can
use just in day-to-day life aboard the boat to make things safer and I think we'll certainly add what we've learned to our existing drills we perform on board,’ he adds. ‘Going forward, I feel we are a lot safer knowing the crew have been involved in this training.’
Further courses are already planned for
Yannick Bestaven’s Maître Coq Imoca 60 campaign ahead of his participation in this year’s Vendée Globe, and the Koesio Ocean Fifty team. With commercial shipping increasingly poised to adopt sail assistance this is also seen a big potential market and Elevated Safety has already been working with SY Canopee, the recently launched 120m (400ft) sail- assisted ship that carries parts for the Arianne space programme between Europe and launch sites in French Guyana. Her four giant wing sails, each
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
