RAS

10 May somewhere between Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The RAS (Resupply At Sea) is quite a complicated affair. Today’s RAS was performed in clear weather with winds of 18-20 knots. The Cleveland approaches parallel to the supply ship and shoots 2 guide lines to the supply ship. A measuring line is threaded along the forward guide line to keep the 2 ships a specified distance apart (looked like 150 feet), and the refueling lines are then suspended from the aft guide line. The cargo to be transferred has been placed on palettes, netted, and arranged on the aft deck of the supply ship. Cleveland’s 2 helicopters take turns hovering over the supply ship’s aft deck while the supply ship’s crew attaches the cargo net tackle to a hook on the underside beneath the cargo bay. The pilots then swing the helicopter over Cleveland’s flight deck, set the cargo on the deck with guidance from the flight deck crew, and then the heli’s crew in the cargo bay release the tackle. The helicopter pilots and crew seem like ordinary mortals when you meet them but they must be adrenalin junkies to do that maneuver over and over until all of the cargo has been transferred. Actually the cargo crew is also a rescue swimmer, and he said rescues are even more exciting than cargo transfers. Cleveland’s flight deck crew dash around on small forklifts to bring the dropped cargo forward, and then the ship’s personnel form a human chain to pass the chow and mail boxes into the mess deck. It’s a happy day to see boxes of mail, fresh fruits and vegetables. Pictures will be on my Flickr site.
Cheers to all!