Helicopter Water Rescue Squad

HELICOPTER RESCUE SQUAD
 
In 1992 Rowan Leck was expressing his concern at the numbers of people going to isolated locations with their boats to go fishing and the surf board riders surfing at many virtually inaccessible surf beaches. In the event of either requiring assistance a time delay using present rescue services could become unacceptable. Rowan presented a case for an air sea rescue unit based on his observations of the use of the helicopter abroad.  Westpac helicopters in both Auckland and Christchurch had similar ideas working and Rowan visited both for further ideas. Approaching Otago Helicopters, Graeme Gale was extremely interested and helpful and agreed to be part of the project. 

By November the basic equipment of a 2 rescuers’ harness, patient rescue nappy, static line to go between helicopter and rescuer and safety belly strop were assembled for usage.   The method of rescue was to use a Jetranger helicopter with the static line attached to the cargo hook and a safety belly strop through the machine and through the cargo hook end eye of the strop with a quick release attachment. The other end was attached to the rescuer by a safety hook with a spare hook for the patient nappy. The rig was trailed successfully one evening by Rowan Leck above the Taieri Airport before the team were assembled.

It was not until October 1994 before training by the team now called the “Water Rescue Squad” (WRS) began.  1998 major changes for the team and an increase in their confidence was with the introduction of the Kawasaki BK117 rescue helicopter. It was a machine kitted out as a flying ambulance and rescue winch. 

All this training and preparation bore fruit when in February 2008 the yacht “Groupama 3” taking part in the Jules Vern round the world speed record was driven north to 80 Nm off the coast of Dunedin where a structure failure overturned the Trimaran. Within a matter of hours of setting off the EPIRB the crew had been rescued by rescue helicopters Air 1 & Air 2 with WRS members and the Westpac rescue helicopter from Christchurch and sitting in Dunedin’s Octagon drinking wine and watching the girls go by.   

As the years passed the confidence of the helicopter operator and the Water Rescue Squad developed to the point that in 2015 the squad is one of the first response teams for marine search and rescue in Dunedin.  All this came with a cost through new regulations and the possible incident challenges the team may be called on prompted them to increase their skills and qualifications with pre hospital emergency care, helicopter search observation skills, helicopter safety, helicopter auxiliary crew person, Crew Resource Management (CRM), basic cliff rescue, river and ditch searching, swift water rescue and shallow water car immersion searching. Many of these have a requalification requirement while much of the equipment now has a use by date necessitating their replacement. Fortunate the Otago Helicopter Rescue Trust continued to donate the flight training time.