Wednesday 8 March 2023

Endurance: out at sea

This is the final blog post relating to our current exhibition, Endurance, which closes at the end of this week. 

Every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide[1].  This figure includes in rivers, pools and at sea.  The best way to prevent drowning at sea is to avoid entering the water, some of the ways to do this are featured in the exhibition. This is not always possible and so the object I am featuring in this blog post is the Fibrelight Self-Recovery Ladder.

 Fibrelight Recovery Ladders, AIBDC : 009366

Fibrelight Recovery Ladders, AIBDC : 009366

Fibrelight Recovery Ladders, AIBDC : 009366

This ladder is a rescue device designed for fishing boats or similar craft with solo or limited crew.  The rope-style ladder is rolled up and contained within a bag which would be attached to the side of the vessel.  This bag has a ‘burst-zip’, this is a mechanism which remains closed when the ladder is not needed, however, as the cord is pulled down through the middle of the closure, the zip bursts open and releases the ladder.  The adjustable cord allows the ladder to be pulled from the bag by a user who has fallen overboard, the bottom of the ladder falls into the water and the casualty can climb back into the vessel without any further assistance.

The ladder in use https://cqc.co.uk/fibrelight/fibrelight-ladders/self-recovery-ladder/


The ladder in use https://cqc.co.uk/fibrelight/fibrelight-ladders/self-recovery-ladder/


The ladder in use https://cqc.co.uk/fibrelight/fibrelight-ladders/self-recovery-ladder/


The ladder has been designed for use by a single person and can be deployed in seconds. The ladder has a width of 600mm and is manufactured in half metre lengths from 1-3 metres, this example being 1 metre long. It has no mechanical moving parts and as such requires no maintenance other than visual inspections. The rungs are made of carbon fibre composite other than the bottom rung which is made of stainless steel in order that the ladder sinks to a level in line with the user's foot.

The ladder in use https://cqc.co.uk/fibrelight/fibrelight-ladders/self-recovery-ladder/

The patent for the design of the ladders was applied for in 2007 by Fibrelight Developments Limited with the inventors listed as Anthony James Patrick Hobbs and David Allan Taylor. The ladder is produced and distributed by CQC Ltd under contract from Fibrelight Developments Ltd and a white bagged version is available for super yachts. With most super yachts being white in colour this version will fit in more tastefully, but the bright yellow will be visually easier to see and manoeuvre to once in the water.

Louise Dennis, Curator of MoDiP



[1] https://www.un.org/en/observances/drowning-prevention-day

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