Survival Suit Contest at Expo

Survival suit donning contest at the Commercial Marine Expo in New Bedford, MA. Left to right, upper left corner US Coast Guardsman who won first place, second place winner and far right, third place winner. Fishermen's Voice photo

The Commercial Marine Expo in New Bedford, MA, June 11 & 12 featured a Survival Suit Donning Race. Contestants were given a bag with a survival or immersion suit as it is also known. The first contestant to correctly don the suit won first prize and the cash that went with first prize. Second and third place also won a cash prize.

The contest was sponsored by Hercules Marine Fishing Gear and Safety Supply in New Bedford. Moderators Ted Williams and Rodney Avila of Hercules pointed out that these suits are most often used under circumstances very different from an exposition floor. A slippery, shifting vessel deck in the cold, wet, dark of night under the pressure of a sinking vessel at sea can make the survival suit more difficult to put on and much more critical that it be done quickly.

The Fishermen’s Voice entry for the survival suit contest. Given that it was her first try at putting on a survival suit and the other time she saw one was in a newspaper ad, Kayla Crowe appears pleased with her solid third place position. Fishermen's Voice photo

It was also pointed out that the survival suit is the best chance for surviving in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. The suit provides floatation and keeps the body dry and warm reducing the threat of hypothermia.

Seven contestants volunteered. After a brief demonstration of how the suit is correctly put on, the race began. The winner was a member of the United States Coast Guard. Second place went to another volunteer who was an R.A. Mitchell employee. Third place went to a volunteer who had no experience with a survival suit. The winner’s time was 43 seconds. Second and third place contestants came in under one minute. Under one minute is considered the goal since that could very likely be all the time a crewman might have to get the suit on properly after getting on deck and locating the suit in the middle of the night.

Most people require a fair amount of practice before being able to don a survival suit in one minute. Regular survival drills are regularly conducted on larger vessels to keep the skill required to get the survival suit on quickly well honed.