Crab and Helmet: Great discussion, thanks. Perhaps I missed it in one of your posts but when using white light in concert with NVG's, is the white light source you are using a fixed position landing light or a movable search light?
I have a lot of experience with open ocean NVG and unaided hoisting and concur with Crab's learned technique of setting the NVG's high up for the horizon and being able to scan underneath them for both the instruments and peripheral vision. However, I personally don't like the tubes to be far away, perhaps just a difference in helmet configuration or maybe just how I learned, not important I guess, to each his own right?
In my current airframe, each pilot has a movable search light on the nose. The use of a pilot controlled search light (typically the search light on opposite side of the hoist manipulated by the safety pilot) varies depending on the scene, just as someone previously mentioned. But in our case, the hoist operator becomes unaided once we begin the process of actually getting ready to hoist, and only after we have successfully arrived to the scene (which is routinely a combo of instrument procedures and visual cues). Once we have established the need to actually hoist someone, the safety pilot will move the searchlight to a position where it helps the hoist operator and to where it has minimal impact on the NVG pilot at controls. In those no wind conditions, the milkbowl effect is definitely a factor to contend with, and the white light doesn't help, but if the power is available, we can mitigate that with altitude. If in the milkbowl, I personally find myself scanning more around the goggles, jumping between instruments and what I can see in the water, however as safety pilot I am more instruments and horizon (if we even one) on NVGs.
I think that when you have NVG's and you commence with an open ocean SAR op, if you treat getting to the scene as a process more oriented towards the use of instruments (regardless if you have a full moon & CAVU) and use standardized procedures to allow you to systematically get established in a good position to assess your next move, then you will most likely minimize your fear factor when you actually commence the hoist, whether you are on NVG, unaided, or using a combo depending on your crew configuration. I have seen to many guys rely to heavily on NVG's to arrive near a sinking boat or person in the water, only then to rely very heavily on the safety pilot to keep them from flying into the water.
Cheers!