Helicopter evac from the Jewel going on

[alfaeric]

No idea why, especially since it’s really windy out in the North Atlantic/ English Channel. Even more odd is that we were told this would happen as we left the locks in the Netherlands. 
 

Hope it goes well, can’t see anything but can sure hear it. 
 

Second time we have had a heli evac while sailing. 

[smokeybandit]

29 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Even more odd is that we were told this would happen as we left the locks in the Netherlands. 

Scheduled training exercise?

[ReneeFLL]

I heard the Alpha call, but didn't know about the heli evac.

[RRTcruiser]

Facebook people are claiming it was the pilot that helped navigate us from Amsterdam being picked up.  Seems kind of a dramatic exit if that’s true.

[alfaeric]

1 hour ago, RRTcruiser said:

Facebook people are claiming it was the pilot that helped navigate us from Amsterdam being picked up.  Seems kind of a dramatic exit if that’s true.

Very possible, actually. There was a pilot boat in the protected bay as the announcement happened. And the seas off the coast were pretty rough. Let alone it didn’t make sense to evacuate a sick person that way when we could have waited in the canal to have them picked up.  

[chengkp75]

Helicopter embark/disembark for harbor pilots is not all that uncommon when the weather turns rough, and it's not safe to bring the pilot boat alongside.  Pilotage fees are a flat rate (based on ship size) for a given time period (the usual transit time), and after that the fee is hourly.  If a pilot is retained onboard after the sea buoy, most commonly until the next port, the ship pays that hourly fee every hour the pilot is on the ship (even sleeping), and every hour it takes to get back to home port (as well as paying the transportation).

[cruiseguy1016]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Helicopter embark/disembark for harbor pilots is not all that uncommon when the weather turns rough, and it's not safe to bring the pilot boat alongside.  Pilotage fees are a flat rate (based on ship size) for a given time period (the usual transit time), and after that the fee is hourly.  If a pilot is retained onboard after the sea buoy, most commonly until the next port, the ship pays that hourly fee every hour the pilot is on the ship (even sleeping), and every hour it takes to get back to home port (as well as paying the transportation).

 

Chief - I know this has been said many times before but, I just want to thank you for your contributions to this forum. Your experience and insight provide so much information to us to help us understand how things work in the cruise (and shipping) industry.

[dragontrainer]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Helicopter embark/disembark for harbor pilots is not all that uncommon when the weather turns rough, and it's not safe to bring the pilot boat alongside.  Pilotage fees are a flat rate (based on ship size) for a given time period (the usual transit time), and after that the fee is hourly.  If a pilot is retained onboard after the sea buoy, most commonly until the next port, the ship pays that hourly fee every hour the pilot is on the ship (even sleeping), and every hour it takes to get back to home port (as well as paying the transportation).

It's tangentially related to this topic, but given your valuable insights I would appreciate if you'd be willing to share your thoughts on another helicopter rescue topic.

 

We were on Symphony during a helicopter rescue south of Puerto Rico.  We had front facing oceanview rooms that have electronic window shades and a note to keep them closed at night to avoid light issues with the bridge.  During the helicopter rescue they had people leave the rooms and posted a crewmember to keep people from entering these rooms.  Would you have thoughts on the main concern they were addressing?  

 

There were discussions of various reasons among passengers on the ship; the main thoughts I've summarized below based on my guess of likelihood:

- Safey of the rescuers: Avoid any chance people in the rooms could distract the rescue team that is trying to hoist an ill passenger onto a moving helicopter off of a moving ship (opening blinds, lights flashing/reflecting)

- Safety of the passengers: If something catastrophic were to happen with the rescue, avoid anyone being in the closest rooms where debris could cause damage.

- Privacy of person being rescued: People don't have a need to watch as someone in need of rescue is helped from the ship.

 

Based on your experience would you have thoughts whether any of these, or other reasons, may be the key driver for evacuating the front facing rooms?  Thank you!

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, dragontrainer said:

Would you have thoughts on the main concern they were addressing?

Sure.  If anything goes sideways with a helicopter in a moving hover in front of the ship, where do you think the helicopter will end up?  In your cabin, so they get you out of Dodge.  Not just debris, either the helo itself or a rotor blade, which could cut its way right through your cabin, or even a jet fuel fire.  As you mention, a secondary measure is to prevent folks from using flash photography pointed at the helicopter.  Remember, the ship is still moving (unless the seas are actually glass smooth) to keep the rolling under control, so the pilot is hovering over the helipad, while backing the helicopter at the ship's forward speed.  The pilot concentrates on the visual (i.e. how close is the ship, the deck, etc), while the co-pilot concentrates on the instruments.  If you distract the pilot with a bright light (or god forbid a laser), he loses the spatial picture, and then if the co-pilot tries to take over, it takes him seconds to acquire the picture, during which things can go sideways real fast.

 

This is such a dangerous maneuver that privacy of the patient is not really considered.

[dragontrainer]

4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Sure.  If anything goes sideways with a helicopter in a moving hover in front of the ship, where do you think the helicopter will end up?  In your cabin, so they get you out of Dodge.  Not just debris, either the helo itself or a rotor blade, which could cut its way right through your cabin, or even a jet fuel fire.  As you mention, a secondary measure is to prevent folks from using flash photography pointed at the helicopter.  Remember, the ship is still moving (unless the seas are actually glass smooth) to keep the rolling under control, so the pilot is hovering over the helipad, while backing the helicopter at the ship's forward speed.  The pilot concentrates on the visual (i.e. how close is the ship, the deck, etc), while the co-pilot concentrates on the instruments.  If you distract the pilot with a bright light (or god forbid a laser), he loses the spatial picture, and then if the co-pilot tries to take over, it takes him seconds to acquire the picture, during which things can go sideways real fast.

 

This is such a dangerous maneuver that privacy of the patient is not really considered.

Much appreciated!  I was using "debris" to include the rotor and helicopter itself, but your more full description far better captures the safety concern.

 

Prior to the rescue I had always assumed the helicopter would land at the helipad so it was eye-opening when the captain described the procedure (as you describe it) after the fact.  I hope to never make use of their skills, but marvel at what the rescuers (and ship crew) are able to achieve and am glad they are out there.

[chengkp75]

Most of those "helipads" do not support enough weight to land a typical medium/long range SAR helicopter, plus the ship has no way of tying down the helo once it lands and the ship is pitching and rolling.  Navy ships use a "bearclaw" trap device.  So, it is safer for the flight crew and the ship that they don't land.

 

Yes, not an aviator (especially not a rotary wing one), but I've spent a lot of time on helicopters, and a backwards moving hover with a large steel obstruction moving towards you is one of the most challenging flights a pilot can accomplish.  For this reason, many do hoist rescues from the open upper decks, so the ship isn't in the pilot's face, but this has difficulties caused by the thermal updrafts from the ship's exhausts.

[Luckynana]

 

 

Thank you, @chengkp75, for this interesting information regarding helicopter and ship rescues, and thank you to  @dragontrainer for asking these questions!