Wearing emergency immersion suits on October 5, a group of high school students taking part in a two-day marine survival course take turns boarding a SOLAS (safety of life at sea) raft in the Wrangell public swimming pool. Parks and Rec staff turned off the heat so that the water would be appropriately cold.
Eleven Wrangell high school students took part in a two-day workshop, enabling their certification to conduct fishing vessel drills.
Secondary schools principal Bill Schwan explained the 18-hour instructional course was provided through a grant with Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, a Sitka-based organization which provides marine safety training for a variety of nautical activities across the country. Its Coast Guard-approved fishing vessel drill conductor trainings focus on safety issues pertinent to commercial fishing, but the skills have wider applications for subsistence and recreational boaters as well.
AMSEA sent instructor Dug Jensen, a Petersburg resident who has led 240 five-day training courses for the USCG, among other activities. By the service's reckoning, the skills he has imparted have directly saved some 38 confirmed lives.
The course curriculum covered a number of necessities, not merely in a classroom setting but through direct exercises as well.
"It's all hands-on," said Jensen. He has presented similar courses for other schools around Southeast, including at Petersburg High this April.
Taking place over October 5 and 6, students who volunteered for the course demonstrated knowledge on using emergency position indicator radio beacons (EPIRB) and flares, conducted exercises at the public pool involving personal flotation devices and immersion suits, and performed a staged firefighting drill on board a vessel at Heritage Harbor.
Most of the students had already had some experience with the different equipment, and a few had even had to contend with some of the situations being covered. What the course does is take a comprehensive look at the survival and safety measures licensed commercial vessels must be prepared for when operating beyond federal boundaries. Knowing the potential hazards and being familiarized with the tools at one's disposal can mean the difference between life and death.
"'Stuff happens' is the name of the class," Jensen told his students during a classroom presentation the first day. "The first of the seven steps to survival is recognition," he explained.
Over two days, the students learned how to contend with cold water threats, practiced putting on and activating float suits and various personal flotation devices even when submerged, how to convey emergency signals and being prepared for eventual evacuation. By the course's end, students successfully completing the curriculum received certification to conduct similar drills on board commercial fishing vessels, a skill set that is both marketable and potentially life-saving.
"This is a great group of kids," Jensen commented.
Schwan explained Wrangell High School is hoping to cultivate more such programming opportunities in the future. He had become aware of the AMSEA program through a flyer, and beyond its educational benefits the program's offer to cover costs for the training had been a deal-sealer.
"Anything that's got 'free' on it, I'm all over it," he joked.
For more information on AMSEA and its other training programs, visit its website at http://www.amsea.org.
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