Fast Rope Training at Sea
21 May 2009
Fast Roping is a physically taxing, precision activity used by the Royal Australian Navy for boarding of vessels or fast insertion of personnel into areas they might otherwise be unable to reach. To maintain their skills, those qualified to conduct fast roping (a roper), must conduct regular training while on operations.
Whilst in transit from Kochi, India to the Suez Canal, HMAS Ballarat was recently visited by HMAS Sydney’s embarked Seahawk helicopter and her Fast Roping team to conduct training on her Flight Deck. In order to facilitate this training, Ballarat personnel, predominantly from the Supply Department (Supply Officers, Cooks, Stewards, and Naval Stores), are closed up at flying stations. These personnel are responsible for preparing the ship for the helicopter’s arrival and managing the helicopter whilst in the vicinity of Ballarat or on her purpose built Flight Deck. Communication between the helicopter crew, the roper and the personnel in Ballarat is conducted principally by hand signals throughout the training.
To safely descend onto the Flight Deck, the roper has only the physical strength in their arms and hands and the friction they can create on the rope using their legs to control their descent.
To become initially qualified as a basic roper, personnel must undertake an intensive two day training course. The course involves jumps from towers and helicopters. To pass this course each individual is required to hold themselves steady on the rope for 20 seconds – all whilst wearing protective clothing, a lifejacket, helmet, gloves, goggles and having an additional 18kg of equipment strapped to their bodies. Ropers can be from any category and it is a role they take on in addition to their regular duties.
