Rescue Teams, and what the meant to one driver

[Ted March]

I posted this under Flat Bottoms. Thought I'd repost it. and maybe get more views.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Absolutely frightning.

http://www.jerseyspeedskiffs.com/
Read Sked Says

Absolutely scary. He's OK. Thank the Big Fellow. There's a video on his site that shows the crash. Pretty violent.

Point is:

Here is a guy that goes out there every day and runs his heart out, just like every body does. And it finally happens. He now knows how important the Safety Guys are and how Talented they are and HOW MUCH they mean to us.

When the day is over, walk up to them, offer them the beverage of their choice, and THANK THEM, GIVE THEM A HUG. AND FOR ALL YOU LADIES A LITTLE PECK ON THE CHEEK. SURE WOULDN'T HURT.

Can't run a race without them.

[Miss BK]

I couldn't find the video. Do you have a link?

Landing chin first could have been disastrous! Especially at 90mph. The most dangerous way to hit the water.

Scary - sure glad he is ok.









Ooops - never mind. I found it.


http://www.jerseyspeedskiffs.com/videos/Mays_Landing_NJ_2005_PS.mpg

[Ted March]

you missed the point.

It's about the rescue people and how important they are to our sport. And how really good they are. And how much they care.

Sked told me that while they were waiting for the 5 minute gun, one of he rescue guys on PWC was riding around handing the drivers bottles of WATER. And he said no one can inagine how much that meant to him. And I suppose the othe drivers as well.

This post is not about the crash. We've been thru that.

IT'S ABOUT THE GUYS AND GALS IN THE RESCUE BOATS, AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO OUR SPORT. CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THEM.

Thank you

[Miss BK]

I didn't miss any point.

Probably more than most, I have ALWAYS praised the rescue teams. I make a point to spend time with the Don Pierce and the Champboat Rescue team at every race, and often have dinner with them too. I've known Don for probably 15 years. I've even been stuck out on the Florida Gulf in a rescue boat that was out of gas with him. We spend much time discussing how to prevent injuries, which is probably why I do the same thing on boards like these. It's my nature to want to help.

I probably should have been a rescue person myself, since I spend so much time looking out for the drivers safety. But unfortunately, I just don't think my stomach is strong enough for that job. Bravo to those men and women who do have that strength.

And I will continue to press for safety measures that will make THEIR JOB EASIER. That's what THEY want too.

[Ted March]

Great Post. And I agree.

[Miss BK]

I think we should also thank the rescue people for most of the improvements in safety we have today. This includes most of our safety rules and those things to be checked during safety inspections. These rescue teams examine injuries and find ways to prevent them in the future. Sometimes it's as simple as having no sharp hardware edges anywhere in the cockpit.

I was very impressed at the Champboat team (Don Pierce, et al) at St Louis. ChampBoat racing rarely has any major injuries today, and this can be credited to this very rescue team - because they make modifications to safety rules constantly.

During the race in St Louis, one boat had a problem with getting his canopy to open. The driver was trapped (but luckily wore an air mask while he drove) While the rescue team worked on the hatch, the driver used his feet to finally kick the canopy open. Because of the air-mask, the driver was perfectly fine -- but if he didn't have that mask on, it could have been much worse.

That night at dinner, this rescue team didn't party down - instead, they spent the entire evening discussing this safety issue - and even spoke with my husband about how to fabricate a balloon system that would inflate and help them to turn a boat right side up in the rare case of a trapped driver. They also spoke with the designer of this particular canopy to change certain mechanisms of the hatch.

I was watching a conversation on another board about a similar incident in San Diego this year. The difference is that this driver's air mask was hooked up to a faulty connector. During the wreck, the connector came undone.

The driver ended up swallowing salt water and spent several days in the hospital. This race team announced that they were going to weld this piece together, so that it would not disconnect ever again - and made this suggestion to other teams.

But Brian Small of Region 1 APBA rescue recognized a serious flaw in this remedy -- the rescue divers would then not be able to transfer air flow from their own tanks -- and the driver would be without air to the surface.

Instead, Brian went to work on this connector and found there was a different connector that would not accidentally come undone. Within 24 hours, Brian had contacted the APBA Safety committee and an APBA Safety E-Alert was sent out to 3000 APBA members warning them about this part, with the part # of the better connector. They were even talking about buying these in bulk for better pricing.

So even in the little incidents, it's usually the rescue teams and rescue directors who are the guys and gals who work out the problems and come up with better rules and better methods and better procedures - all in the interest of our safety.

And they deserve special recognition at our awards banquet. I love those guys and gals. :)

[Miss BK]

Around the time Don Pierce first started doing drag boat racing, he and I were discussing safety at a newly formed DSRA race at a place we called "The Ditch", down by Baton Rouge. This was around 1990 or so.

This actually was just a barge channel used for parking barges during bad storms, but the lay-out was perfect for drag racing -- high banks for spectators to have a birds-eye view above the course, and where they could sit only 15 feet from the lane, and a nice, wide turn-around at the end.

But this club was brand new, and none of the races were APBA sanctioned. So they were on their own to form safety rules. Most of Don's rules come from years of experiencing injuries, and learning what NOT to do. What happens most of the time with a new club is that many items are not even considered until they are exposed during an accident.

I had been looking at the finish line all day, and I had not even noticed one big danger glaring right at us. Actually, nobody had even thought about it.

The race committee had strung a cool, narrow advertising banner across the "Ditch" to the other side. This marked the finish line and looked pretty cool. The day had become windy and the banner had been twisting around the rope - so the race organizers hung weights on the bottom of the banner to hold it down.

When Don Pierce arrived at the race, his eagle eye spotted those weights right away, and suggested they be taken down immediately --- if one of those weights were to come undone from the banner, it could smack a driver going 100 mph right in the head and kill him. It was just one of those things that only a very qualified safety team can spot as a potential hazard. Nobody else even thought anything about it.

I was very impressed. ;)

[Master Oil Racing Team]

This photo was an accidental double exposure. I saved it because to me it was a visual symbol of the importance of the safety and rescue teams.

[Ted March]

Can't race without them!!!