Dillard crew conducts rescue swimmer training in SF Bay

USACE San Francisco
Published May 6, 2016
Spencer Langston, a crewmember from the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., is raised out of the water by a davit system May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Spencer Langston, a crewmember from the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., is raised out of the water by a davit system May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Steve Rohner, right, a crewmember of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., assists Nicholas Cimaglio onto deck May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Steve Rohner, right, a crewmember of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., assists Nicholas Cimaglio onto deck May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Steve Rohner, right, a crewmember of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., holds on as he is raised out of the water by a mechanized davit system May 5, while Miguel Nieto watches on. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Steve Rohner, right, a crewmember of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., holds on as he is raised out of the water by a mechanized davit system May 5, while Miguel Nieto watches on. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Kixon Meyer, captain of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., operates a newly-installed davit system May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Kixon Meyer, captain of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., operates a newly-installed davit system May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Miguel Nieto, a crewmember of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., is a man overboard May 5 during a training scenario in the San Francisco Bay.

Miguel Nieto, a crewmember of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., is a man overboard May 5 during a training scenario in the San Francisco Bay.

Joe Aguila and Steve Carr, crewmembers of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., keep an eye on the man overboard May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

Joe Aguila and Steve Carr, crewmembers of the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., keep an eye on the man overboard May 5. The Dillard crew conducted three days of rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay May 3-5.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Crewmembers from the M/V John A. B. Dillard, Jr., braved frigid and choppy waters May 5 as they conducted rescue swimmer training in the San Francisco Bay.

With a curriculum set up by the Newport Beach, Calif.-based Marine Rescue Consultants, the training gave the crew not only a chance to recertify in their life-saving skills but to try out a newly-installed davit system on the the boat.

"It's a brand new concept for the Dillard," said Kixon Meyer, captain of the 86-foot catamaran-hull fast boat used by the Corps for emergency operations and debris removal. "We can now manually launch our life raft if our ship loses power." 

On the final training session, held the morning of May 5, crewmembers used the davit to raise swimmers out of the water and onto the deck. Each swimmer was outfitted with a full wetsuit and dive fins and tethered to a safety rope with one of the crewmembers serving as a tender on deck. Crewmembers changed roles throughout the day between man overboard, rescue swimmer, stand-by swimmer and tender.

"We have a small crew, so anyone can find themselves in any role at any time," said Meyer.

After numerous iterations of open water drills held alongside the Dillard, the crew returned to dock in Sausalito where they received their training certificates.