At super speeds, safety comes first: Crews participating in this week's Destin World Cup learn the value of emergency training.

Byline: Randy Dickson

Oct. 31--DESTIN -- Team CRC No. 7, the 2006 Extreme Cat Offshore Super Series world champion, is back in town to defend its world title.

But before boat owner/driver Mike DeFrees and throttleman Jeff Harris could take to the Gulf of Mexico to practice today, they first had to pass a safety test on Tuesday.

Charlie Bass, the OSS medical and safety coordinator, and his emergency rescue crew had set up shop in the pool at Emerald Coast Scuba to prepare racers for the worst-case scenario: a capsized boat.

And while there's no way that Bass and his crew can simulate a crash on the water at more than 100 miles per hour, the walk-through emergency is welcomed by the racers and safety crew alike.

"It is really important to make sure you are always prepared for the situations that occur out there," DeFrees said. "You just never know when you might end upside down on your head. So this type of preparation is vital to being able to get quickly out of the boat.

"Just to be able to get yourself stabilized when that happens, and to know what it feels like with the oxygen in your mouth and being able to breath ... It's easy to try to get out of the cockpit too fast when you are upside down and do the wrong things."