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A special project I’m working on the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. These are the guys who jump out of helicopters into heavy seas, during big storms & hurricanes to rescue boaters in distress. We worked with a Rescue Swimmer artist to create the dial artwork, which is packed with symbolism.
Here’s the artist’s description. Amazing:
For those that may be interested in the symbolism of the watch face design, the illustration was designed to incorporate several different aspects to honor the Rescue Swimmer brethren who have passed in the line of duty:
A single lone fin design (in lieu of the 2 crossed fins of the standard rescue swimmer wings) was used to capture the emotions of and show respect to the family members (mothers, fathers, wives, children) who were left to continue their lives “alone” after the tragic passing of their loved ones.
You’ll notice the fin for this design is inverted. The fins on the USCG Rescue Swimmer wings are also inverted. As per the Silver Fins Organization (order of retired USCG RS) once an RS retires, the fins are typically pictured to be “hanging from the straps” representing that the retired RS has “hung up their fins”. These 4 brothers never got the chance to retire and “hang up their fins” so leaving the fin inverted is a way to honor their “never-ending” active duty service.
The 4 stars each represent the brethren that have passed: Pete Leeman, Jamie Caines, Dave Skimin, and Fernando Jorge.
In place of the standard “wings”, this design uses a set of wings that closely resemble that of a guardian angel to remind us that in a way, these 4 men with always be with us.
Since all 4 of these brothers were Aviation Survival Men (ASMs), we wanted to ensure that a part of our “survivalman” heritage was portrayed...hence the ordnance ball. There’s a slight “tilt”back of the ordnance ball as if to look skyward.
The lightning bolt represents the “dark and stormy” as a rescue swimmer rarely deploys when the weather is cooperative. (As was the case in a majority of these 4 mishaps.)
The SOML (So Others May Live) banner truly captures the reality that these 4 sacrificed it all to live up to our motto as Rescue Swimmers.
Here’s the artist’s description. Amazing:
For those that may be interested in the symbolism of the watch face design, the illustration was designed to incorporate several different aspects to honor the Rescue Swimmer brethren who have passed in the line of duty:
A single lone fin design (in lieu of the 2 crossed fins of the standard rescue swimmer wings) was used to capture the emotions of and show respect to the family members (mothers, fathers, wives, children) who were left to continue their lives “alone” after the tragic passing of their loved ones.
You’ll notice the fin for this design is inverted. The fins on the USCG Rescue Swimmer wings are also inverted. As per the Silver Fins Organization (order of retired USCG RS) once an RS retires, the fins are typically pictured to be “hanging from the straps” representing that the retired RS has “hung up their fins”. These 4 brothers never got the chance to retire and “hang up their fins” so leaving the fin inverted is a way to honor their “never-ending” active duty service.
The 4 stars each represent the brethren that have passed: Pete Leeman, Jamie Caines, Dave Skimin, and Fernando Jorge.
In place of the standard “wings”, this design uses a set of wings that closely resemble that of a guardian angel to remind us that in a way, these 4 men with always be with us.
Since all 4 of these brothers were Aviation Survival Men (ASMs), we wanted to ensure that a part of our “survivalman” heritage was portrayed...hence the ordnance ball. There’s a slight “tilt”back of the ordnance ball as if to look skyward.
The lightning bolt represents the “dark and stormy” as a rescue swimmer rarely deploys when the weather is cooperative. (As was the case in a majority of these 4 mishaps.)
The SOML (So Others May Live) banner truly captures the reality that these 4 sacrificed it all to live up to our motto as Rescue Swimmers.
