It happens once or twice a week and it starts with an announcement from one of the officers: "Attention ship's company! Attention ship's company! For exercise! For exercise! For exercise!" And what follows is some sort of practice drill for the crew. It might be a "code blue" in one of the cabins, or a "code bravo" in a hallway. Yesterday it was a "man overboard, starboard" drill. When we heard it, I knew this would be an interesting one to watch if I could get close enough. So I went out on the lifeboat deck on the starboard side and the crew was assembling from all over the ship, including the kitchen. They were carrying rescue equipment and a stretcher and all headed for the same area on Deck 5 near the lifeboats. All the while the ship was executing a 180 degree turn, generating a large wake, and our new heading was west as the crew searched for the "man" that had gone overboard, a florescent orange "body" that had been thrown in the water before the announcement.
It took less than ten minutes for the ship to reverse course, and another few minutes to locate the "man". During this maneuvering a small lifeboat was being prepared for launch and as soon as the "man" was located, the lifeboat was ready. In the photo you can see the crew in the lifeboat picking up the "man" who went overboard. With the rescue complete, the ship again reversed course and we resumed our eastbound travel. The entire operation took less than half an hour. I was very impressed!
No comments:
Post a Comment