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Annual Bridgehouse School Mountain Bike Event Saturday 20 October 2001DSAR was requested to provide medical support for this event. D18, D38, and D39 provided four-wheel-drive vehicles, whilst D42, D43 and D48 provided medical support. All members met at school in Franschoek by 0730 hours. The ERT using the pack-set was set up as a radio base at the school grounds. To ensure good comms on TAC 1 the Yagi antenna was used, mounted on the ERT. Ross Hofmeyer, D42
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Intermittent but strong interference that came and went abruptly – possibly due to our closeness to the other radio users. |
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Sound dampening was ineffectual – we had a lot of noise from the Metro staff next to us. |
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The portables distributed to the management staff could not function properly over the distance between the JOC and the finish/medical tent etc. Transmissions were broken and usually unintelligible to the management staff. (The JOC and finish were more than a kilometer apart, with the stadium in-between) |
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We struggled to contact the relay (RELAY 01) at times, although the signal was good when contact was established. |
In order, as per above problems, possible solutions are:
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Setting up comms at the JOC a day early – we can thus make certain that or aerial placement is as high and far away from the others as possible. |
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Sound dampening can be arranged with JOC management the day before – a simple screen would help immensely. |
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A single network, and a bit of user education would help the management net immensely. |
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Hopefully better aerial placement will help. |
Ross Hofmeyer, D42
I was allocated to the Relay Station on top of Vlooiberg (between
Scarborough and Simonstown), to assist Roy (D15), Trevor (D78) and Dylan
(D13). Our primary aim was to provide Comm's to the Southern Part of the Tour (Partridge
Point up to the Top of Ou Kaapse Weg) and provide a Control Centre for all the
Emergency Vehicles (and Helicopter's) that were stationed along this part of the
Route.
Saturday Evening we spent setting up our CCU including masts, antenna's etc.
Sunday morning started early, with me and Tom (my Scribe in Crime)
getting up at 03h00 to drive to the Station. We spent the last 45min
of our Journey driving on the top of the mountain trying to find the
Caravan in the darkness!
06h00
saw us on air, ready for the forthcoming cyclist's. As the morning progressed
(and Pro's changed to "Hobby" Bikers) we got busier and busier,
our peak being reached at around 12h30 when all four of us were frantically
relaying to and fro from all stations!
Afterwards things got a bit calmer and most of us managed to get a bite
of food, a breath of fresh air and a review of where all our specific vehicles
were situated. By this time a lot of cyclist's were giving up and the Number
Relaying took up most of the work. Peace and relative quietness were not to be.
Late Afternoon traffic picked up again with medical emergencies and
"out of stock" Physio's keeping us busy. By this time I had changed
from our internal Network with our Posts to the
Metro Channel, relaying with the Ambo's and JOC (Joint Operation Centre). I
really enjoyed this part as I thought it was a totally different kind of
relaying and communicating. Comm’s did definitely not stagnate on this side of
the Radio!
Our last part of the day was spent following the last Cyclists up Ou Kaapse
Weg until we finally closed down at 16h15, being on Air for just over
10hrs!
I really enjoyed the Argus as I found it gave me enough practice Communicating. Being on for that long a time, made sure that by the end of the Day, the Basic's were in place. Although things got hectic at times up there, not once (maybe due to my inexperience) did I find that things got out of control. This Event just once again confirmed my suspicion: Being a "Spectator" can be just as much fun.
Melina Frey (Delta 36)
Photos: Roy van Schoor
[DSAR deployed approxiamately 24 persons at various Refreshment
Stations around the course providing valuable communications support. In
addition, 55 portable radios were issued to the organisers to provide local on
site communications.]
Photo: Graham Macmillan
I arrived at the Grand Parade in Cape Town city center at around
08:00.
This was my first outing as new Associate Member of the ORU. It was a fine
day for walking as the clouds was sheltering the 27000 walkers from the
scorching sun. Now rain was expected for the day, and with great
anticipation I arrived at the ORU Trailer.
Trevor Wyborn (D78) brought the trailer from Helderberg fire. We parked it
alongside the organisers (Claremont Rotary Club) which proved to be very
helpful during the day. Our duty was to man the controlling station during
the day, and do some PR work for the unit with members of public, Paramedic
Services, and others wandering past our location. We had the antenna fixed
to the trailer and Zero Two happily reported that our comms was "Loud and
Clear" on Tac 2. Even Tac 1 communication to Zero Two and some of the
units
was available as backup.
Roy van Schoor (D15) had some trouble convincing the security guard at the
gate to let him in (although the car was full of ORU insignia, arials and an
annoyed member clothed in full ORU uniform. He was soon granted permission
and joined us at the trailer. Malcolm Visser and Moshe Lebowitz was also
there to sharpen their radio skills.
We were soon busy on the radio handling calls from ORU units in the streets.
We served as communication backbone for the organisers and calls handled on
the network were ranging from calls for more volunteers for some of the
refreshment stations to Start times of the different walks starting at
various intervals. The computers had to be updated with the correct start
times as the various walks' winners arrived with others' back markers. The
only real "crises" in the morning came from Max Gouviea (D18) who
reported
that all, but three of the toilets in Simons Town was swept over by a strong
wind the previous night and the chemicals was lost. This soon developed in
quite a predicament for some as long queues soon developed.
Graham MacMillan (D34) also kept us up to date with the progress of the long
distance walkers and as usual, a weather report was transmitted every now
and then. Thank you Graham! Roy had to help a family member of
one of the
walkers when she fainted next to the road at the Parade while waiting for
her husband. She was 39 weeks pregnant and for her the wait was just too
long. She was taken away to hospital by ambulance.
All the vehicles was responsible for an area along the route. After the
walkers passed their area, they had to sweep to the next members area to
ensure that the whole route was covered. R1 was in control of the Blouberg
Strand and Seapoint routes and coordinated their ORU members and kept us
updated as the walkers made their way to the Parade. The checklist slowly
made it's way down as the route closed down from Simons Town, down Main Road
and up to the Parade.
Anthony Peters (C30) was the last to arrive at the Parade as his was the
last area along the route. The sun was already low against City Hall and
at
18:00 we all packed the trailer and went our way. Not all of the ORU's
responsibilities involve a daring rescue and charging around with lights and
siren wailing. But you won't find an endless supply of Boerewors rolls and
Coke on all of them!
Another successful mission for the Off Road Rescue Unit!
Anton Goosen (D21)
Graham, D34
It all started on Thursday. It was raining with high winds, and it was decided by the organisers that the first day's schedule would be replaced by the second's, starting one hour late.
After everyone had started I left with Kobus (D35) to set up a relay between the start of the trail and 03 Nuweberg. Sitting in the Land-Rover I was glad I didn't have to be walking in the miserable weather!
The driver of the vehicle said that some of the teams were on the wrong trail and I had to go after them. About 5Km along the trail I caught up to them and sent them in the right direction, cutting across a small river to meet up with the main trail. I went downhill and found that the "small river" crossing was now a torrent with all the teams attempting to cross. Disaster was looming as some people were being swept down the river and having to be rescued. One competitor dislocated his shoulder and another sprained her ankle within minutes of my arrival.
I radioed through to 03 to describe the situation whilst helping rescue a team member who was being swept down the river. I tried to regulate the flow of people through this section due to the "traffic jam". After all the competitors were through we returned to 03 and a welcome cup of coffee and dry clothes.
I then made my way to Boesmanskloof and then to Pofadder Neck where I met a competitor who told me that the 2nd river crossing was worse than the first, and I relayed this to 03. I had to go up and down Pofadder about three times to avoid losing comms with the relay station at Boesmanskloof, but could not make contact with the sweeper.
When I finally made contact I was told that it was all clear that and all the competitors had gone through.
At Boesmanskloof hut there were a lot of hypothermic and exhausted competitors who did not take part in the second leg. I had to sweep the second leg until the escape route, injuring my thigh muscle at one of the river crossings.
The day ended approximately 2 hours after dark, with everyone accounted for.
I recommend this event for everyone as it is a good training opportunity for comms, due to difficult conditions and the need to set up relay stations.
Gavin Holroyd - D48
(The second and third day of the event proceeded uneventfully! - D15)
Sunday morning 07:00 found myself, Trevor Wyborn (D78) and Roy van Schoor (D15) with the ORU trailer on our way to the Grand Parade, C.T. for the annual "Big Walk". Incidentally, this was the 7th year in a row that the ORU was involved in providing Comms for this huge event, with a record participation of 22400 walkers this year.
Some light drizzle was encountered along the way but which luckily cleared with only some high cloud left when we got to C.T. Trevor left for his specific duty and I found myself alone with "The Boss" (D15) getting the trailer operational for the day's activities. Our's was the controlling station (C/S: CONTROL) and my involvement for the day was to help manning it and, hopefully, also pass my "test" for getting accepted for Associate Membership.
While we were busy with that, radio traffic from members already on air and others signing on for their duties, picked up and kept us rushing around the trailer to get everything ready and handle all the calls and questions and hand out radios to members. We were just getting into the swing of things, accompanied by very loud music from a stall across the road, when our radio suddenly went off air. (Rumour has it that stations discussed CONTROL'S poor performance in not answering their calls/radio on TAC 2, can you believe it . . . ) After about 20 minutes or so a faulty antenna cable was discovered as the culprit and promptly replaced. All was well again.
As the day wore on, Dave Watling (D82) came to accompany us and help us at the Parade. Calls that varied from information regarding the numbers and times of the leaders to provision (or not!) of ice for thirsty walkers was handled during the day. All the mobile members manning/sweeping the stations did well and we were never "swamped" by radio calls due to bad radio manners.
However, the day did not pass uneventfully. Joy Schroeder (D61) reported that a child, a non-participant, was knocked over by a car in Rosebank. Apparently it was not too serious.
Then, at 13:30, chaos reigned at the watering point at Kenilworth when Jaco Reyneke (D86) reported a shooting incident. As the radio reports came in, it transpired that there was an attempted robbery at the ATM at the Standard Bank in Main Road. A security guard shot one robber in the side but his mate got away. We, the ORU, got some unexpected mileage out of this as D86 and Tash Horn (D72) were promptly interviewed regarding the robbery and these interviews were broadcasted on KFM at 15:00 and 17:00. Tasha, our photographer, took photos at the scene and was planning to file a story regarding the incident.
As more and more walkers finished at the Parade, the radio got quieter and quieter as members signed off, while we got busier and busier getting people to stay out of our demarcated No Entry area. Eventually all good things end and D61 was the last C/S in at 18:00. We packed up and D82 took us home.
Just for the record, a total of 15 members were involved. Two of our members, Charles Cherry (D31) and Ernst Heydenrych (D64) along with their spouses partook in the walking and finished in good time. Congrats!
You wondered if I made the grade to become an Associate Member? Well, I have my yellow shirt!!
Dirk de Kock D58
At this time of the year, the little town of Robertson in the Cape plays host to the Agricultural sector of the Cape by holding the show at the showgrounds. Every year the Off-Road Rescue Unit has been asked to supply medical and other support for the show. I give the medical support, yes I'm pleased to say that at the moment I am qualified as a Level 2 First Aider and in December will hopefully qualify to Level 3 (advanced), so no need to worry about my qualifications in this regard, which entails attending to light injuries sustained while riding horses or working with the machinery.
This year we managed to have the new Emergency Support Trailer up here with us and I must say that it certainly attracted lots of attention from the public who were very eager to come and find out more about our activities.
On Wednesday the 30/09/98, Max Gouveia drove up to join me and brought with him the E.S.T. We had an uneventful day until that evening when a young lady in one of the horse and buggy events managed to break her arm. My advise to her was to have the arm x-rayed a.s.a.p.(can't force people you know).Thursday was another uneventful day.
Friday say me alone at the show because no one could find Dirk De Kok! That evening Bruce Noy arrived for the Saturday stint.
Saturday saw Roy and family, Karin, Bruce and Pierre take up the challenge for the Mountain Bike Event organised by Vivian Kuiper of Robertson. He single-handedly pulled off this event as WPPSA and the Mountain Bike Association had let him down with only posting the fliers off a month in advance. This turned out to be a bit of a treasure hunt when it came to finding the cyclists and their routes. There was confusion as to the Competition Route, and the route taken by a paid tour ride through the area. In the end all went off well with only only one injury - a lady cyclist having an intimate relationship with a peddle which resulted in a nasty gash that had to receive some stitches to repair.
All in all, a good show was had by all and we definitely look forward to the enjoyed support of the Off-Road Rescue Unit at next years show and pray that the dates do not clash with the Boland 90.
Thank you for all who gave their support and who travelled so far to come
and show their colours at the show, we salute you.
Until next year end of September.
Graham D-34 Out.
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