Eastbourne lifeboat tried to assist French yacht for 9 hours

[JumbleDuck]

It's quite rare, but it does happen. And when it does, it's not usually because no assistance is required, but because a different type of boat would be more suitable. For instance due to weather or tidal conditions, or the size, location and ultimate destination of the casualty.

Thanks for that. So more on practicality than any judgement on the merits of the incident.

 

[Concerto]

I wonder if the French nationals onboard were worried about being charged for a tow.

That comment was made in the link I posted as OP.

 

[FlyingGoose]

Let’s us not forget the RNLI are a voluteray organisation, and do not answer to government or any administration out with their own, it is a large charity and like all charities that have a high profile and a lot of donations and press coverage, they need to hire people to fit these jobs in administrative duties,
All large organisations have ego driven, and people who make mistakes, any one who has ran large customer focused businesses will tell you this
A few negative perceived instances does not tarnish the thousands of calls and. Lives saved each year, the old proverb , dammed if you do dammed if you don’t come to mind

 

[cherod]

I did get “ rescued “ once , ran aground in mud , despite my gesticulating about the depth astern of me , about 2 ft , they came in about right behind me and promptly ran aground , after about ten minutes they eventually powered off ( think they must have had water jets propulsion or something , then wanted to tow me forward in the direction i had run up on , eventually i managed to “persuade “ them that astern was the way i was going !! Came off easy , they then proceeded to tow me at speed ( relative ?). astern into the choppy seas until they ripped off one of my landing platforms on the sugar scoops ? at which time i threatened to cut the tow at which point they let go , Very glad i was for their “ assistance “ ??

 

[jimi]

I was rescued once, rudder got jammed on a badly marked pot line, was quite near a sandbank 10 miles out in the North Sea so dropped anchor. Tried to free with no success so radioed CG to advise them of our position and situation, they said "Do you want help?" I replied "Yes, please." Life boat came out, one of the crew jumped in the water with drysuit and tried to free us, no luck. So they towed us (at speed) back to the marina. Very helpful and we'd have been really struggling without their help. Just glad it was an amenable F4 at the time.
With regard to those moaning about about being rescued when they did'nt want it, well if you radio up from a Sunsail boat saying youve lost your engine and are intending to sail into the busy commercial post of Poole with its stong tides in the entrance WTF do you expect? Likewise if the CG gets a report of a dismasted boat from a 3rd party, they are very likely to respond. Just a matter of commonsense, really.

 

[ip485]

I find this quite an odd debate.

Being cynical if the life boat crew are prepared to turn out for whatever reason and other people are prepared to pay them to do so (for whatever reason) more praise or fool them (depending on your point of view). If you are in command you should jolly well know it is your call what happens next, and your call alone as to whether or not you need rescueing - that is part of what being a skipper means, and the life boat crew can only respect your decision. If either side wishes to boast or otherwise after the event about the outcome this is equally up to them, it matters not to the skipper or the life boat crew, good luck to them if they get a few more pennies in the coffers, and as skipper, if you feel your ego has been hurt, then you just need to jolly well grow up.

That is my take anyway.

 

[lustyd]

With regard to those moaning about about being rescued when they did'nt want it, well if you radio up from a Sunsail boat saying youve lost your engine and are intending to sail into the busy commercial post of Poole with its stong tides in the entrance WTF do you expect?

You’re making a lot of assumptions there Jimi. I didn’t mention the state of the tide and I don’t consider Pool harbour entrance to be a busy port. Neither did I say where I was headed inside the harbour. At the time I told the coastguard the full situation and that was that the tide was slack and we were picking up a buoy just inside the entrance with good wind and we’re fully under control. The ONLY reason we called them was the local bylaw about sailing past the ferry, which the ferry was happy for us to do on the day.
there was zero danger to anyone or any thing and the situation was under control. Using a boat for its intended purpose in the intended way should not be justification for forcing a rescue even if the AUXILIARY breaks down. Sailing into a harbour and onto a mooring buoy should be considered normal and safe, and I find it worrying that RNLI and CG don’t feel that way.

 

[38mess]

It's only In the last 20 years or so that I have had a radio on my lesuire boat, if we got into trouble in the old days we couldn't call a lifeboat even if we wanted to. Used to sail on and off my moorings.One weekend I drifted back and forth past the entrance to our harbour on the tide for the whole weekend when the wind died, until a kind fishing boat towed me to my mooring. no engine of course. If a lifeboat was called it was a major thing,. Not like today when one is tasked to tow someone who has run out of fuel and is in no danger

 

[jordanbasset]

The issue for me is the yacht was crossing shipping lanes without navigation lights, they were not only a danger to themselves but to others. Do not think the life boat had a choice but to shadow the yacht in those circumstances

 

[[178529]]

I find this quite an odd debate.

if you feel your ego has been hurt, then you just need to jolly well grow up.

That is my take anyway.

I don't think this debate is about egos. Neither is it an odd debate. If you go back to the original post the story is about a French guy who refused help from the RNLI and the newspaper report gave fairly heavy implications that he was being irresponsible, with a suggestion that he was possibly worried about being charged for a recovery - which the French services do.

I and someone else just made the point that things aren't always what they seem. The report only tells one side of the story and we gave personal examples of where that was the case. Nothing about egos at all. No criticism of the bravery of the rescue services. It's not about growing up, it's about realising that what is being presented to you as fact, is very possibly just one aspect. I imagine if someone interviewed the French guy you would get a completely different version of events.

 

[stranded]

A business like the RNLI with their massive marketing budget needs statistics to talk about. Having seen them in action on many occasions I'd guess around 80% of their "rescues" are forced on the victims. Don't get me wrong, I'd be glad they are there when I need them, and I do donate, but I don't think their attitude is healthy in a lot of cases. FWIW I was once forcably rescued by them too on a Sunsail yacht in the solent. The engine had broken down and we notified the coastguard and ferry that we'd be sailing in to Pool Harbour entrance but were perfectly happy under sail. 5 minutes later there were men jumping on board and taking the wheel. I was happier under sail

Quite a few of the rescues one sees on the tv advertorial shows do look a bit ‘soft’. But what anyway is the point of making a ‘for info’ call if you are perfectly happy dealing with the situation yourself and want no action taken? Are you wanting the LB crew alerted and then twiddling their thumbs awaiting your further call while you test your skills? Or do you hope for help with plausible deniability in the yacht club. I think your current strategy is best - deal with it if you can, call if you need help,

When I say “you” above I mean anyone.

 

[[178529]]

The issue for me is the yacht was crossing shipping lanes without navigation lights, they were not only a danger to themselves but to others. Do not think the life boat had a choice but to shadow the yacht in those circumstances

Absolutely, but i'm not sure I would take that at face value. All the 'facts' seem vague. The boat's position when found by the lifeboat was a long way from where it was reported. What else was inaccurate? The photo of the boat is in daylight. The French guy was clearly bright enough to jury rig sails when his boom had snapped. The point i'm making is that without getting the French guy's side of the story i'm not sure there is a complete picture. My experience is that what was reported had little relation to the actual event.

 

[JumbleDuck]

But what anyway is the point of making a ‘for info’ call if you are perfectly happy dealing with the situation yourself and want no action taken?

It may reduce the possibility of the CG taking action when someone else calls in about (generic) you.

 

[stranded]

It may reduce the possibility of the CG taking action when someone else calls in about (generic) you.

Fair point. So if you are conspicuously in trouble?

 

[Mark-1]

you radio up from a Sunsail boat saying youve lost your engine and are intending to sail into the busy commercial post of Poole with its stong tides in the entrance WTF do you expect? Likewise if the CG gets a report of a dismasted boat from a 3rd party, they are very likely to respond. Just a matter of commonsense, really.

And when you're windsurfing and they come out because a passer by didn't realize windsurfers fall in from time to time and then they ask you if they can drive you back and you say no WTF do you expect then?

Agree with your main point though. Don't inform the CG of *anything* unless you want an immediate and pejoritively publicised rescue.

Unfortunately, there's no solution to attention seeking passers by, except to have a vessel faster than the pursuing rescuer, which I *have* heard on 16 to my amusement.

 

[Stemar]

In this case, and on the evidence I've no doubt that the decision to launch the lifeboat was the correct one, as was the decision to stand by M. l'Imbécile. Anyone who ends up off Eastbourne en route from le Havre to Cherbourg is clearly getting into Captain Calamity territory, but I can well imagine that the decision not to call for help was initially fuelled by a desire not to end up with a big bill and later by a lack of appreciation of the danger of his situation.

I'm sure there are plenty of "rescues" that were unnecessary, but I for one am very glad that the CG, who makes the decision works on the principle that it's better to have a lifeboat on scene or to tow in a WAFI who's run out of fuel than to have to go out later in worse weather to rescue said WAFI from the surf and rocks. Of course they'll get it wrong from time to time, I do, you do (if you think you don't, we'll be discussing your rescue sooner rather than later), and so do the CG and lifeboat organisations.

 

[jimi]

I've a lot of time for the guys and gals on the lifeboats, perhaps its worth pointing out that "soft" rescues also act as training which is helpful for when the shit really does hit the fan. I can only see 2 points of a for information call to the CG, 1) I'm not in trouble but others might think I am so ignore them 2) I'm in a potentially risky situation but not yet in trouble.

The CG has to make a risk assessment including whether the judgement of the caller is better than the spectators. ( It is'nt always.)
For 2) Again risk assessment factoring in that the caller felt concerned enough to make a call in the first place.

WRT to press officers blowing up the scale of a soft incident, who cares, that's the way the press works in the UK whether its the RNLI, mountain rescue etc etc. What matters is whether the organisation performs its function, IMHO the RNLI does so admirably.

 

[Sandy]

That comment was made in the link I posted as OP.

I did not read that far down the article.

 

[Rappey]

I often hear the cg in the solent area asking if another vessel in the area can assist.
Means the cg boat can be available for a more serious call.
Mistakes or not the cg provide an invaluable service and it's good to know they will come out to assist regardless of the situation.

 

[Juan Twothree]

And when you're windsurfing and they come out because a passer by didn't realize windsurfers fall in from time to time and then they ask you if they can drive you back and you say no WTF do you expect then?

If someone says they're fine and don't need our assistance, then we wish them a good day and head back to the harbour.

Happens quite a bit.