How to help a helicopter see you

If you’ve called for help, your next job is to be found. Make sure you're the loudest, weirdest thing in the water to a helicopter camera.

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This post is a specific focus on what it takes to be seen by a helicopter.

This is the “if the shit has hit the fan”, then a helicopter is your last resort. Here is how to be seen.

I’ve got a very long running and pretty well established post on safety here (including an excellent video from Hydro Gav).

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Being seen

If you’re just one person on a board in the ocean, your job is to be the loudest, weirdest thing in the water from the perspective of a helicopter camera.

This is because in the worst case, a helicopter is really your last hope. How quickly you can be found is pretty much everything.

Here are some ideas:

• Have something that tells them where you are

  • What: A PLB or EPIRB on your person, and ideally a VHF with distress button so you can tell them when you see them.

  • Why: Cameras only help once the helicopter is in your area. Beacons shrink the search box from “somewhere out there”.

• Wear crazy bright stuff

  • What: Fluoro pink/orange/yellow PFD, helmet, hat, stickers.

  • Why: From the air, the ocean is a moving grey/blue mess. Bright blocks of colour are what catch the eye and stand out in the video feed.

• Add shiny, reflective bits

  • What: SOLAS Reflective tape on your PFD, paddle, and board.

  • Why: When the helicopter uses a searchlight or the sun hits you at the right angle, those patches flash like a mirror and grab attention instantly (see why, pretty interesting)

• Carry a light

  • What: A tiny PLB strobe, or a simple waterproof torch.

  • Why: At night or in low light, the cameras and night-vision systems are basically hunting for light sources. A single blinking strobe is incredibly obvious in an otherwise dark sea.

• Make a big messy colour around you

  • What: Water dye marker, smoke, or flares if you have them.

  • Why: A small person and board is very hard to spot between waves. A bright green patch of water or an orange smoke plume is much larger and easier to see and track from height.

• Make yourself a big, irregular shape

  • What: Keep paddle/arms up, stay with your gear. Splash the water when you see them.

  • Why: You need to stand out.

If you remember one idea, make it this:

Helicopters don’t “see you”, they see contrast.
Make yourself bright, reflective, flashing, electronically locatable, and as big a shape as you can.

Please forward or share with your local crew 🤙

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