Date: Jan. 26, 2005
Contact: Ensign Anastacia Visneski
(808) 842-2875

After 4 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, (907) 463-2000

avisneski@jarvis.uscg.mil 

Feature Story

Man Overboard: Cutter Jarvis crew conducts survival training in Kodiak

Crabbing season has come to Alaskan waters. With headlines already captured by the sinking of the fishing vessel Big Valley, as well as a crewmember from fishing vessel Sultan falling overboard, it becomes clear that the Coast Guard has one of its most important missions already underway in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea. Crabbing season is one of the most dangerous times of the year for both fishermen and the Coast Guardsmen who patrol the area.

Cutter Jarvis, home ported in Honolulu, Hawaii, takes these dangers, and its responsibilities very seriously, as was shown with the survival training its crew underwent during the port call in Kodiak, Alaska. It was still dark outside when Capt. Michael A. Jett, with 38 years of service, dressed in a survival suit of bright red fondly called a “Gumby” was the first to step off the end of a pier plunging into the cold Alaskan waters.  Bobbing to the surface, he rolled onto his back and proceeded to swim towards the life raft. Soon other crewmembers joined their captain in the chilly waters, bobbing up and down like large floating fruit.

Click on thumbnails for enlarged, higher resolution version. 

This was the start of the crew’s special survival drill.  For a group of Coast Guardsmen from warm, tropical waters, the idea of jumping into waters cold enough to cause hypothermia within minutes was not very appealing, but everyone had the very clear understanding that it was necessary. The ship’s commanding officer provided the background for this training, based on the training he received at the Military Sealift Command Training Center in Freehold, N.J.  The drill covers the mandatory requirements for basic mariners licensing. After donning survival suits in two minutes or less, crewmembers jumped 15 feet from the pier into waters that were approximately 35 degrees.

They proceeded to practice organizing a group of survivors and gathering into life saving formations, including the “ bull’s eye”, a circular formation meant to draw the attention of passing aircraft. Each crewmember then swam to the nearby life raft, clambered inside only to jump back out again, swim to the dock and roll out of the water.

On the second morning of the drill, there was a flurry of snow and sleet to heighten the effect of the training. With winds bringing the temperature down to a chilly 23 degrees, it was a brisk morning wake up climbing into survival suits out on an open pier. Most of the crew of Jarvis expressed surprise that the suits made the experience fun, keeping them warm and dry.  The experience helped crewmembers learn how important it is to understand the function of a survival suit, as well as draw attention to the importance of teamwork in case of abandoning ship.