Commentary—Cutting Corners Doesn’t Cut It With Offshore Racing Safety And Rescue

Since 2018, I have served as the rescue coordinator for various offshore racing organizations. I vowed to maintain a high standard of qualifications and professionalism for my team and to never compromise the racer’s safety. We have all seen the tragic results when a safety team lacks qualifications, consistency, experience and how that affects operational effectiveness.

When it comes to offshore racing safety teams, the stakes are too high to cut any corners. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

Recently, I have been made aware of some “under-the-table” conversations questioning the need for certain minimum standards for American Power Boat Association offshore safety personnel.

Why do safety personnel need to have emergency medical technician or paramedic training? Why do we need a minimum of 15 rescue divers on the racecourse?

While the list goes on, I am quite sure that these questions are not coming from the racers.

I will attempt to adequately respond to these questions based on 27 years of Orlando Fire Department Special Operations experience and 20 years of Offshore Racing Rescue experience.

EMT/Paramedic Certification
This minimum requirement ensures that every individual rescue diver has the training to recognize any obvious or potential injuries and to do no further harm during extraction. Basic EMT training teaches you to recognize and treat any life-threatening injuries such as controlling bleeding, immobilization of fractured bones, immobilizing cervical spine injuries, controlling a compromised airway, and recognizing an altered level of consciousness from a head injury. Safety personnel without this training do not have the skills to recognize these injuries and do not have the training to treat any life-threatening conditions. These are basic skills that any EMT can perform anytime, anywhere.

Background In Public Safety
This requirement ensures that the rescue diver has been exposed to and performed in high-stress, high-hazard emergency situations. Firefighters, police officers and military Special operators and more perform their duties under these conditions regularly. This skill set has proven to be extremely valuable in the high-stress environment of offshore racing rescue.

15 Rescue-Divers Minimum
This number is based on staffing six rescue boats each with two rescue divers per vessel. There also are three rescue divers in the Angel 1 helicopter, which bringa the diver total to 15. This minimum staffing is based on operational needs and rapid response times for total racecourse coverage. Time is of the most critical essence when a person is unconscious and submerged underwater. Seconds count.

Helicopter Essential
There is no question that the APBA offshore rescue team’s response model is the most efficient and effective rescue plan. Thankfully this rescue team has been well documented with video evidence posted by bystanders on all social media platforms. There are countless videos that show the speed of response and immediate contact from the rescue divers deploying from the Angel 1 helicopter. I am confident that the race teams will agree.

Having a rescue helicopter in the air at every race—regardless of course-length—is essential.

Maintaining Rescue Team Consistency
Is it necessary to bring all 15 team members to every race, or can you just bring some of the team and supplement with “local divers” to meet the APBA 15-diver minimum requirement? The answer is yes, but only after they have been vetted for qualifications and trained by lead diver Artie Gatlin. This requires potential prospects to attend at least one prior race event as trainees and participate in multiple training evolutions with the SET trainer/dunker.

Once a potential rescue diver gains a thorough understanding of all the different race boats and safety systems and demonstrates proficiency in these skills, they will be added to our team roster. We cannot in good conscience place any individual in one of the 15 critical positions without this training. There is too much risk to all involved. Would a Super Cat or Super Stock team, not bring one of their mechanics and just supplement their race team with a local marine mechanic that they have never met?

Accepting The Financial Cost
I am aware that having a highly qualified and highly trained rescue team at every race isn’t free. I am also aware of the incalculable costs of not having one. But even the rescue divers bear costs of their own. For example:

• Each team member buys their own rescue gear worth more than $2,000. This includes a mission-specific SCUBA kit, dive mask, fins, knives, prybars. This gear is not useful for leisure or sport diving. This is strictly for racing rescue.

Author Shawn Steinert and his teammates are a tight group.

• Most team members are full-time career firefighter paramedics that use their earned vacation hours to work at the races. Often this equates to working certain race days for no pay, because their vacation hours have monetary value and can be traded for pay. They still do it because they are dedicated and passionate about it.

Every time the issue of the cost to field a proper offshore safety team all of the above and more get questioned, I shake my head.

But the real question is do you really want to cut costs with a safety team that have proven itself again and again, the same group that has kept organizers and promoters out of negligence lawsuits and ensures their safety standards are maintained? The same team that shares mutual respect and deep friendships with the racers and their families?

The same rescue team that has consistently performed skillfully and efficiently to every incident on the racecourse?

My answer is no and always will be. I will never agree to lowering any safety standards, and my allegiance is to my team members and the racers that we protect and serve.