Star returning to Hawaii

[Baron Barracuda]

Left Kauai at 4pm yesterday scheduled for 6 sea days prior to arrival at Bora Bora.  Just before noon captain notified us that due to a sick passenger we are returning to Hawaii (Hilo?).  Nevertheless he hopes to reach Bora Bora on time.  Ship tracker currently shows we still have a fair amount of back-tracking to do.

[stretchcruz]

I'm onboard as well. I thought they said a Coast Guard helicopter was meeting us? I was in cooking class, it was hard to hear.

[Zippeedee]

I am onboard as well. I thought they said we just had to go back to US waters so the coast guard helicopter could pick them up.it may have already happened, I haven’t checked the tracker in the last few hours.

[AZ_Tim]

On board Viking Star, also. We don't have to be in U.S. waters, but we must be within range for the helicopter to make the trip to the ship and return. I understood the captain to say we should reach the rendezvous point around 5:45pm.

[Zippeedee]

Just now, AZ_Tim said:

On board Viking Star, also. We don't have to be in U.S. waters, but we must be within range for the helicopter to make the trip to the ship and return. I understood the captain to say we should reach the rendezvous point around 5:45pm.

Thanks! I was in the Wintergarden and it was hard to hear.

[bmct]

I'm still waiting to hear that he's been picked up.  The patient is one of my best friends.  

[Zippeedee]

39 minutes ago, bmct said:

I'm still waiting to hear that he's been picked up.  The patient is one of my best friends.  

I was in the World Cafe around 8 pm when someone asked an officer who confirmed the patient had been picked up. We started moving soon after. I’m sorry for your friend, I hope they will be ok.

[CDNPolar]

Hope the passenger is ok.  The passenger is very lucky you were not three days into sailing.

 

Not that this could have been avoided, but this is a reminder if you are doing any trans-ocean cruise or an expedition cruise that you can be days away from medical help, and evacuation cannot be done past a certain range.

 

If you have known medical issues, the ship can only deal with so much.

 

How fortunate for the passenger that the evacuation was able to happen.

[bmct]

Yes, he was very lucky.  It was not a pre-existing condition, either.

 

They did take him to Honolulu instead of Kona.  He is well enough to text me, but he will be in the hospital for a few days.

 

I was on one cruise where a passenger fell down stairs, had a horrific shoulder break.  We were days from anywhere, mid-Atlantic.  They had a Navy ship meet us and take her off.  Quite a sight.

[Peregrina651]

10 hours ago, bmct said:

I'm still waiting to hear that he's been picked up.  The patient is one of my best friends.  

 

Wishing your friend well. He will have quite a tale to tell when the ordeal is over.

[Zippeedee]

If anyone is interested here is our route.

[AZ_Tim]

6 hours ago, bmct said:

He is well enough to text me, but he will be in the hospital for a few days.

It's good to hear that he is doing well enough to text you.

 

I'm not sure of the exact time, but I think it was around 8pm when the pickup was made. At that time, the crew was closing the Sun Deck and the outside part  of the Explorers Lounge.

 

This is a reminder that you can be days rather than hours away from any medical help greater than they can provide on board. It's also a reminder of why we buy trip insurance, for the coverage outside the US and for medical evacuation costs.

[deec]

I wonder if the coastguard charges for transport from a ship to hospital?

[chengkp75]

27 minutes ago, deec said:

I wonder if the coastguard charges for transport from a ship to hospital?

No, they do not.  Under the SAR convention, various nations agree to provide SAR (search and rescue) functions for either their coastal areas or designated areas of the oceans (like the USCG provides this service throughout the Gulf of Mexico).  No nation charges for this service.

 

And, to clarify a comment by a previous poster regarding insurance, while I'm not sure if that poster is aware of it, "medical evacuation" insurance does not cover evacuation from the ship.  And, no ship will allow a non-governmental agency (who would be the ones to charge for an evacuation) to approach their ship with a helicopter to attempt an evacuation, since they are not trained to do landings (very rare) or lifts from moving ships at sea.

[Peregrina651]

Thank you!  Your explanations are always edifying and always appreciated.  

[AZ_Tim]

Thanks for your clarification about medical evacuation from a ship. It makes sense that non-government helicopters would not be allowed to attempt evacuation from a cruise ship.

[CDNPolar]

We were 17 hours into the Drake Passage on route to Antarctica, when a passenger fell from the 11 metre swells, and broke her hip.  

 

We were too far from the coast for a helicopter and the initial intent was to get close enough to land to have a ship to ship transfer, because the winds were too high for a helicopter.  

 

It turned out that we could not even do the ship to ship as the winds and waves were too high so we had not option but to sail back to our initial port and transfer to an ambulance.

 

Funny, that there was talk on the ship about helicopter evacuation but most did not realize the distance from land factor or the winds which ultimately made it impossible.

 

It opens your eyes to what can happen.

[deec]

I wonder where they took her once she got to Ushuai, not sure about their medical facilities.

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, deec said:

I wonder where they took her once she got to Ushuai, not sure about their medical facilities.

As the capital of the province, they have the large regional hospital there.

[Jim Avery]

We had a male passenger evacuated to Ushuaia with a broken hip.  He actually had such good surgery and rehab down there that he rejoined the ship two weeks later in Peru...

[deec]

good to know...as we head there early January.

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by deec

[CDNPolar]

21 hours ago, deec said:

good to know...as we head there early January.

 

 

If you are going to Antarctica, DON'T underestimate the ships movement that you may experience in the Drake Passage.  Our cruise line taught us to walk low and slow (feet wide and knees bent) and never take your hand off a railing or a wall.  Stairs were the hardest to navigate as the elevators were often not working in the Drake Passage.

[chengkp75]

22 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

If you are going to Antarctica, DON'T underestimate the ships movement that you may experience in the Drake Passage.  Our cruise line taught us to walk low and slow (feet wide and knees bent) and never take your hand off a railing or a wall.  Stairs were the hardest to navigate as the elevators were often not working in the Drake Passage.

Mariners are taught that the "Trailing Hand Technique" is the safest way to descend stairs, and after 46 years, I use it all the time, but did so especially in heavy weather.  Significantly decreases the chance of falling on stairs, and minimizes possibility of injury if you do fall.

 

https://navalsafetycommand.navy.mil/Portals/29/LL 19-08 Trailing Hand Technique (Shore_Civilian).pdf

[Peregrina651]

Thank you! After skimming the PDF, I wanted to see what it looked like in action so googled for videos. Very helpful.