Seconds and Feet - Rescue Water Craft Mindset

‘Seconds and Feet’

While operating a Rescue Water Craft (RWC), it is best to think in terms of ‘Seconds and Feet’. This depends always upon the operators chosen vessel speed, and the environmental concerns. An operator can arrive at Point A very quickly-while traveling to Point B, an operator has to consider all the ‟Key Factors‟ from the 3 RWC standards set below:

1. Trim

2. Throttle and Helm Control

3. Weather and Water conditions

These are simplified terms that are expansive and deep in practicality and understanding operationally.

There are 2 key elements:

A. Operational

B. Mindset (operator-crew-survivors)

This includes the relationship of 'distance to travel' for the destination goal. There are many decisions to calculate, an operator has to constantly be making choices in boat handling according to the water terrain changes, traffic, debris or the element of surprise, the unseen obstacles.

Basically operators need to be schooled in a fundmental understanding: When to go and when not to go, as specified by a RWC in technical use terms and applications.

Unfortunately we have a higher increase in untrained and unqualified operators in the field now using RWC's. The good news for them sadly is that the RWC is very forgiving to the lack of fundamental understanding of these unique power craft.

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