The
Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan purchased a Hovertechnics
Hoverguard 800 to improve its search and rescue capabilities. Sheriff
Dale Clarmont says, "We bought it because this craft was designed to actually fly over surfaces. It flies over land, ice, and open water, so we can use it during
all four seasons. The reason we
chose the Hovertechnics Hoverguard 800 is that it was one of the largest
hovercraft manufactured at that time, so it allows us to load the entire search
and rescue team into the craft, with gear.”
In the
first four years that the Department has had the hovercraft, it has become a
critical part of their search & rescue operations and has been credited
with saving five lives so far. Two of those rescues earned Lifesaving Medals
for the first responders conducting the operations.
In one of
these rescues occurred when a 63-year-old man broke through the ice while
snowmobiling on a lake near the mouth of the Cheboygan River. Michigan State
Police Sgt. Mark Tamlyn said the man’s body temperature had quickly fallen to
89 degrees. He credited the quick response by search and rescue personnel – and
the hovercraft – for saving the man’s life despite blowing snow, poor
visibility, icy conditions and open water.
“Had we not had the hovercraft we would have
been delayed in getting to him,” Sgt. Tamlyn said, “In this situation, minutes count.”
Sheriff
Clarmont added, “There was absolutely no
way you could have gotten to him and saved him with any equipment other than a
hovercraft … It’s a great tool for us.”
Besides
its critical role as a lifesaving tool, the hovercraft also fills a secondary
role in crime prevention. The hovercraft and its crew collaborate with Border
Patrol units to search the Mackinac Straits for drug smugglers.
