Beginning in 2021, Pádraig Mallon and Jacqueline McClelland of infinity Channel Swimming – who utilize their talents as escort pilots guiding solo swimmers and relays across the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland – started offering the SOS Recovery Ladder on their escort boats.
McClelland explains, “We have used them for six swimmers by end of last season. They were either disabled swimmers or swimmers too fatigued to reboarding by normal ladder methods.”
A SOS Recovery Ladder is equipment that allows escort crew members to get disabled, injured, ill, fatigued, or hypothermic channel swimmers back onto the escort boat.
The SOS Recovery Ladder has multiple advantages:
- it is easy and quick to deploy in minutes as it unfolds instantly.
- it can be operated by a single individual.
- it can be rolled out and ready for use in less than a minute.
- it is multi-functional in that another open water swimmer or able bodied support crew can use the ladder and the disabled, injured, ill, fatigued, or hypothermic swimmer can be horizontally lifted out of the water.
- its horizontal posture is important for swimmers experiencing hypothermia or injury.
- it can be secured to a cleat, gunwale, stanchion base, padeye or other available strong points on the escort boat.
- it can hold a body with great security and stability.
- it includes a highly visible, heavy duty neon yellow polyester mesh bag.
- it has well-spaced rungs providing stable foot and hand hold.
- it is soft mesh that will not further injure or hurt the swimmer when there are ocean swells or surf that causes the boat to roll, unlike typical boarding ladders.
- it is easily transportable and can be carried from boat to boat.
For more information about the SOS Recovery Ladder, visit www.sosmarine.com.
For more information about infinity Channel Swimming, visit infinitychannelswimming.com.
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