Oceanid Water Rescue Craft

The products that we provide are unique, incredibly safe, and highly versatile. We take pride in our boats and design them to take the kind of punishment that many years of rescue and commercial usage will incur. We work closely with Fire, Sheriff, Search and Rescue organizations and manufacturers for ideas, prototype testing and product proofing

Our company director, Kris Walker, was a partner/owner with Bill Forrest at Forrest Mountaineering in 1970’s, a company that designed and built technical rock climbing equipment. During those early years, Forrest Mountaineering created, designed, developed and produced dozens of climbing products still in use today including the Friends, the original climbing cam anchors and the first rock climbing hammer and ice axe systems with interchangeable picks. Kris founded Argonaut in 1984 (which later became AIRE in 1989), a company that designed and produced whitewater cats, rafts and inflatable kayaks. Kris was the first person to design, build and sell a commercially viable line of recreational catarafts. He has taken the 27 years of experience gained from these fields and created a line of watercraft that pushes the frontier of the water rescue environment.

Our guiding principles are:

SIMPLICITY
FUNCTION
DURABILITY
RELIABILITY

Oceanid was formed to revolutionize the field of aquatic rescue. A few years ago, we began customizing our unique water vehicles to the specific needs of the customer. This has opened previously inaccessible environments not only to the rescuer, but to many who find themselves working in a demanding water environment on a regular basis.
Oceanid is starting another revolution. We have transferred the knowledge gained through literally millions of harsh river miles, to our current products. They are professionally designed to serve those who must work around, or in, a liquid environment under the most challenging conditions.
We work closely with our customers to assure they have the finest and most reliable equipment in the world.

Design Philosophy

The unique requirements of the user have driven all design concepts at Oceanid. We look at what needs to be accomplished and create various prototypes. They are then rigorously tested in training and field use by search and rescue, fire, sheriff units, USGS and other agencies. Only the most durable, safe and useful products will ever leave the prototype phase.
Our customers come from all around the globe, giving us great ideas for product improvement and innovative new products. We listen to our customers carefully. They are the driving force behind the success of Oceanid.
Our philosophy toward design is this: We will only design products which maximize the safety of those who must work in a demanding, aquatic environment. Our products must be versatile, easy to use and nearly indestructible..

The Future

You will shape our future. We need to hear your ideas. Tell us what you need to do and maybe, together, we will figure out some creative new solutions. Oceanid was formed to bring about new solutions to old problems in the areas of water rescue and work boats.
Rescue and work boat users need better equipment. Oceanid will seek to provide new products, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of professional boaters around the world.

Waterfalls

Plitvice Waterfalls - Croatia

waterfalls at Plitvicka Jezera National Park

I was expecting something like this

Types of climbing

Rock climbing

The most common form of climbing is rock climbing, which involves
the ascent of natural rock formations or artificial walls in indoor climbing centres.
There are thousands of routes that have been recorded around
the country and these are graded by a system measuring their level
of difficulty (see below).
Rock climbing may be practiced as aid climbing or free climbing.
Aid climbing requires climbers to use various pieces of equipment,
such as ropes, harnesses and belays to ascend a rock that could not normally be climbed freely.
Climbers usually work in pairs with one person acting as the belayer, using friction to allow the climber to hang by a rope whilst they ascend the rock face. Unmarked routes require one climber to ‘lead climb’ a wall in order to clip rope and gear to the rock as they climb, but most indoor walls and many outdoor routes use a system called top-roping where a rope is threaded through an anchor at the top of the route, allowing all climbers to be attached safely to the rock.

Rock climbing

Free climbing is the ascent of surfaces without the aid of traditional climbing equipment. This type of climbing can be dangerous as it requires climbers to rely solely on technique and experience, but many climbers also find it a more liberating and rewarding experience.

Bouldering

Bouldering is the activity of scrambling over smaller rocks, usually without the aid of a rope because of their proximity to the ground. It is often used as a method of training but it is a competitive sport in its own right. This kind of climbing requires great strength in the arms and the legs in order to negotiate the cracks and crevices of the boulder without being able to rely on the aid of the belay. It is a good way to build up strength and technique and requires only a crash mat in the way of equipment.

Ice climbing

More extreme than climbing on rocky surfaces, ice climbers use crampons and ice picks to ascend glaciers and ice formations. Ice structures can be very unpredictable and consequently this is the riskiest of all types of climbing. Many indoor climbing centres have ice walls, which is a safe way to prepare for outdoor ice climbing. The world’s largest indoor ice wall is at the ‘Ice Factor’ just outside of Glencoe but there are facilities all over the country.

Buildering

Buildering is the practice of outdoor climbing in the urban environment and involves negotiating buildings and man-made structures without the use of rope or equipment. Buildering is often associated with the French sport of "parcourt," a form of engaging with the built-up environment and, in recent years, it has become very popular in urban parts of Britain. A sport in its own right, buildering may also be used to train for rock climbing and is a good way to practice techniques and judgement.

Alpine Climbing

Alpine climbing is an extremely challenging type of climbing, requiring the climber to be adept at climbing across ice and rocky surfaces as well as having sound knowledge of survival skills and meteorology, as weather conditions can change very quickly in alpine environments. It is also critical that alpine climbers are able to climb quickly and with sound judgement, as the freezing conditions can be fatal and there is often a high risk of avalanches.

Mixed Climbing

As with alpine climbing, mixed climbers need to have experience of a variety of terrain. Mixed climbing often incorporates varying pitch lengths, ranging from short demanding climbs to alpine climbs of thousands of feet.

Climbing Basics

Whilst good climbers must have body strength and agility, it is even more important that they have well-practiced techniques so the climber can negotiate rocks, ice or man-made walls with speed and skill. Climbing relies heavily on the arms and legs and it is important that beginners learn to use their limbs effectively to conserve strength and energy for difficult moves.
When ascending a wall, climbers should keep their body as close to the wall as possible, keeping the body vertical to avoid the need to cling to the rock. The legs are the strongest part of the body and climbers should use leverage from their legs, rather than using the hands to drag the body up the rock. It is also more effective to use the inside of the foot as opposed to the toe and this will help maintain an upright position against the rock.
It is necessary to rest at regular intervals, particularly on longer and more arduous climbs. When resting, it will be less work for the hands to place them above the head, then straighten the arm and lean out. It is also important to think ahead when climbing and to position the hands and feet in the hold ready for the next move so as to avoid switching and to conserve strength.
There is no ‘one way’ to climb and it is important that each climber works to their own individual strengths. Practicing the same routes repeatedly is a good way to get to know the body and to improve the technique. It is also useful to watch the moves a more experienced climber makes and to attempt to imitate the way they negotiate the holds. When getting to know new ways of climbing, it is pivotal that you climb slowly in order to plan moves carefully, thus developing good judgement rather than snatching for ill considered holds.

but we got
this

Mountain Rescue

Zoom out.

Hugh Stevens, a Cape Town rock climber who was rescued from Table Mountain on Friday in one of the most difficult rescue operations in years, is in a coma in a critical condition with severe head injuries.

Rescuers Deon Tromp, Rik de Beer and Stefan Moser of Wilderness Search and Rescue rappel to help climber Hugh Stevens on Table Mountain.

The impact of his 20-metre fall on Arrow Final, the cliff face below the cablecar, split open his protective helmet.

Stevens, 47, of Steenberg, has had surgery in Groote Schuur Hospital to repair multiple compound fractures to his leg and surgeons are waiting to see if the blood supply will be adequate to save the limb. He also has broken ribs.

The rescue, managed by Wilderness Search and Rescue in winds gusting up to 64km/h, took more than six hours.

Stevens, who was leading two German tourists on a climb, is a registered mountain guide and a volunteer for the Wilderness Search and Rescue.

Stephen Fortuin, spokesman for Wilderness Search and Rescue, said yesterday: "Hugh is a very competent climber and Arrow Final is not a technically difficult climb, so it is difficult for us to say what went wrong. He was unconscious when he was rescued and still is."
The rescue call was made just after 4pm after a cablecar operator had seen Stevens hanging by the rope on the cliff.

Kevin Tromp, co-ordinator of the rescue, called in the Metro Red Cross Rescue Helicopter, which flew a team of climbers to the top of Table Mountain and sent another up by cablecar.

A rescuer, Deon Tromp, abseiled down to Stevens and reached him by 5.27pm. Two other climbers, Rik de Beer and Stefan Moser, joined him.

"Rik is a doctor, so stabilised Hugh there on the cliff face," Kevin Tromp said. "They did what they could, stopped the bleeding and so on. That took about an hour or so, in winds that were absolutely incredible. I was in the rescue Land Rover below and it was being knocked about.

"They lowered the stretcher and got Hugh on to it. My first choice was to winch him up to the cablecar, so we could bring him down that way, but they had closed it because of the wind."
He had called the SA Air Force when he realised the Skymed helicopter could not operate in the wind, Tromp said.

"The pilot, Captain Brian Bell, landed at 9.45pm in an Oryx on top in incredible wind. I think he realised that if he didn't do it, there would not be much hope for Hugh. It took them over 30 minutes to walk with the stretcher to the helicopter, which took off at 10.26pm."

By Melanie Gosling
www.capetimes.co.za

Me performing a pick-off rescue drill

Since cutting ropes can be expensive, not to mention dangerous, for most pick-off training we set up a system to take the load off of the "victim's" ropes in a controlled manner and untie him after attaching him to our ropes.

Knives and ropes don't mix well.

I'm tying a french prussik knot to set up a pulley above him.