Hampton Inn’s swimming pool on South U.S. 27 was pressed into service as an immersion tank for a device used to help save OSS boat racers’ lives.
“We nicknamed it the ‘OSS Super Soaker’ but the real name is ‘Self-Extricating Trainer,’” explained OSS Medical and Safety Director David DiPetrillo of the apparatus—the only one of its kind in the world.
Racers in this weekend’s Lake Cumberland Grand Prix will take turns being dunked in the device that simulates the cockpit of an overturned racing boat. The trainer is designed to help them become acclimated to conditions that occur when the race boats capsize, and to train to escape even when submerged.
