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‘the rnli is trialling
using drones for
searches at sea’
T
COMMENT
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
DRONES HAVE MOVED ON FROM SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARE NOW EVEN
BEING TRIALLED FOR USE IN SEARCH AND RESCUE, ON SHORE AND OFFSHOREMatthew Sheahan
is head of
performance
sailing at
Sunset+Vinealk to any marine photographer who has
tried shooting from a drone and you’ll hear
stories of how they have ditched at least
one in the drink in the process of learning
how to use it.
My favourite story was of a German film crew who flew
to South America with their sophisticated, high-tech
drone. They opened the box, fired it up and watched it fly
out to sea... It never came back.
Despite their best attempts to get the drone to return, it
carried on flying north-east, diligently returning to base- in Germany – the last place it had programmed into its
GPS settings as home.
But this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race has
demonstrated just how far things have moved on. While
the drones that are used in the VOR are relatively simple
DJI Phantom 4s, the experience and ability of their pilots
has taken a big leap.
The off-the-boat footage of Volvo 65s careering through
the Southern Ocean is something we’ve never seen before
and has added a fascinating new dimension to the race.
Seeing these boats
surfing down huge
waves before
ploughing into the
backs of others in 25+
knots of wind has also
dispelled the myth
that you can only fly a
drone in light winds.
In addition there have been stunning vistas in the
Doldrums showing whales feeding, some superb shots of
Akzo Nobel sailing ahead of a lightning storm, and a very
cleverly shot and edited tour through one of the boats.
Teams themselves have been using the drones for a
number of additional reasons, too, from wind spotting to
checking on sail and boat trim.
Away from the professional racing end of the spectrum,
drones are being used for a wide range of amateur events
from the start of the Fastnet Race to local dinghy club
racing, all of which is providing a fascinating new
perspective on our sport.
But drones are also being used in an increasing amount
of other areas at sea. Some are using them as coaching
tools, allowing crews to analyse and develop their sailing
techniques from a new perspective. I’ve heard that people
are even using the auto-follow function. Brave!
The use of drones is also being investigated by the RNLI
and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for
emergency response.
In late April this year, trials were conducted along a
stretch of coastline at St Athan, Wales, with a selection of
drones being used in four different search and rescue
scenarios. These included a shoreline search for a casualty,
an offshore search for multiple casualties in the sea, a
mud rescue and a communications blackspot where a
drone was required to relay information between rescue
teams and a casualty on a cliff.
In addition, they looked at how drones could be used to
work with existing rescue teams both on and off the water
in an attempt to evaluate the life saving capacity for the
system and the ability to reduce risk for rescue teams.
“The RNLI has a proud history of embracing new
technology, from cork lifejackets in the 1800s to the
design and build of our waterjet-propelled Shannon class
lifeboat, so it’s very exciting for us to now explore the
potential use of drones in search and rescue activity,” said
Hannah Nobbs from the RNLI’s innovation team.
So, when it comes to search and rescue, how far could
the use of drones go?
“It’s too early to comment on how we will move forward
from the trials but one thing we all agree on is that drones
cannot replace helicopters, coastguard rescue teams or
lifeboats,” said Phil Hanson, aviation technical assurance
manager at the MCA.
“However, it is entirely possible that they could be an
additional tool to use in search and rescue.”
Some are going even further. I know of at least one
company in the UK that is a long way down the track using
drones to carry quite bulky equipment to remote areas
and has recently been conducting trials off the north-west
Scottish coastline to deploy liferafts remotely. If Amazon
can potentially make household courier deliveries by
drone, then it’s no great stretch of the imagination to
think that the same could be done with lifesaving kit.
So whether flying a drone for fun or for gain, the game
has moved on and using a drone is no longer just about
taking the plunge.