28
ALL AT SEA FEBRUARY 2021
HOT TOPIC
We discuss important topics with marine industry experts who share their opinions and top tips to help you get the most from your boating.
SAVING LIVES WITH
Tom Harrop, marine brand manager at Exposure OLAS, discusses the prevention of life-changing accidents with simple wearable technology. out of his RIB, then saw how hard it was to save and recover him and try to stop the RIB that was still circling round at high speed.” Karol Jablonski, a former America’s Cup helmsman and World Match Racing Champion, is no fool. However, he admits on this occasion he was ‘that’ fool explaining: “I was sitting in neutral, unclipped [from the killcord] and turned around to video the start of a 49er race. When I finished filming, my camera arm dropped down and touched the throttle, only lightly. The next moment, the boat accelerated and I was in the water.” The following chilling tale is one we As the RIB started to circle and he saw assume only happens to ‘other people’ and the bow of the boat heading directly shows how even the most experienced towards him, Karol managed to use his boaters can make mistakes. We are, after arms to push himself away from the all, only human. Yet now, developments in centreline of the boat. From the vicious technology mean this incident would have chop that whirred past him, he estimates ceased to be a problem within seconds. the propeller missed his elbow by a In 2019, respected German Olympic few centimetres. coach, Marc Pickel, witnessed fellow Polish Karol Jablonski was lucky. He was coach narrowly miss instant death. eventually rescued and his rampaging, Marc explained: “I saw Karol Jablonski fall driverless RIB stopped by other coaches, ATS brokerage DPS FEB edition:Layout 1 29/01/2021 11:50 Page 1
who fortunately were nearby. Had he been alone, his situation could have been very grim.
Cordless kill switch
It is no surprise that RIB drivers and coaches, such as Marc Pickel, are adopting systems like the OLAS Guardian from Exposure, a compact wearable technology, no bigger than a wristwatch, that acts as an instant wireless kill switch. Driven by the ‘smart phone and smart home’ market, low energy Bluetooth technology has become stable enough to enable engine cut-off within seconds, whilst remaining fully connected as crew move around vessels up to 50ft. The cordless kill switch works by sending a regular stream of Bluetooth transmissions from the battery-powered wrist tag to a small waterproof receiver wired into the boat’s kill switch
system. As soon as this signal is lost, it stops the engine within two seconds and sounds a piercing alarm. Easy and discreet to fit, it can be used alongside a physical kill cord too. It means if you unclip to walk around the boat, you are still protected, even if you forget to physically clip back on again. The entire crew, including the dog, can be
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tagged. The engine will stop if anyone leaves the boat, and it can be restarted after five seconds to perform a rescue. The Guardian also activates a loud audible reminder if you have forgotten to tag in or switch your tag on when you get on board, something a passive physical kill cord simply cannot do. Marc Pickel concluded: “The OLAS Guardian should become the standard for all RIB/powerboat drivers. Previously I tried an extended kill cord rope but it would tangle up and pull out. Wearing OLAS like a watch, you are still connected to the wireless kill switch and you are safe.” You can watch an handy video illustrating the OLAS Guardian at: youtu.be/kzBJf1na3s4. exposureolas.com
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inspired by the love of boats... Storing your boat indoors will help protect it from the elements
