Harbour Radio Praised For Rescue Role

December 27, 2010

coast guard helicopterBermuda Harbour Radio’s role in a dramatic rescue at sea which took place off the island in October is being praised by the captain of a 124-foot charter luxury yacht.

Captain Gianni Brill, who skippers the $20 million Hakvoort motor yacht “Perle Bleue“, said today [Dec. 27] that without Bermuda Harbour Radio’s assistance a life-threatening situation for one of his crew members could have proved fatal.

“On October 23 about 1900 (ship’s time), Peter suddenly developed an acute pain on his left flank, about where his kidneys are located,” said Captain Brill. “… With the advice from another friend, Dr. Michael Healy (in Paris at the time at a urologist conference), at about 2100 on Oct. 24, we started to administer 10 mg. of morphine. Healy strongly advised us to get Peter off the boat as soon as possible because without professional medical help, the situation could threaten his life.”

“We started contacting Bermuda Radio about 2200 as the closest land mass (240nm) with medical care. Bermuda Radio immediately contacted district 5 of the US Coast Guard in Norfolk, Virginia and from there we were in direct touch with various medical authorities.

“The decision was rendered to commence rescue operations at day break 0700 EST on Oct. 25. I have learned that two air units will fly to Bermuda, refuel and a second crew will perform the rescue via helicopter. The US Coast Guard medical staff continued to contact me every four hours from the time the decision was made to check on Peter’s vitals.”

Captain Brill said the mission to remove the ailing crewman, coordinated by Bermuda Harbour Radio and the Coast US Guard, went off with clockwork precision. The sick crew member stabilised at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after being evacuated to Bermuda and was discovered to have a large kidney stone.

Captain Brill extended his thanks to both the Coast Guard and Harbour Radio, saying this was the second time he had worked with the Bermuda maritime operations unit during an emergency saying “I would also like to acknowledge the huge help from Bermuda Radio, which I have had the honor of working with previously, including during Hurricane Bertha in 2008 while I was pinned in St. George’s harbour with a 133-foot sailing yacht.”

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  1. Terry says:

    Captain?