Eastbourne lifeboat tried to assist French yacht for 9 hours

[AuntyRinum]

There's always two sides to a story. Perhaps he didn't feel he needed help as he was able to get back on his own? Perhaps the 100m warp was to try to help the motion in the strong winds and waves?

I've told this before but around 15 years ago I was anchored for lunch at the mouth of the crouch rafted against my wife's cousin's boat that sported a long bowsprit. Anyway at the end of the lunch when we cast off I stupidly caught the shrouds in the bowsprit at a coouple of knots and the mast on our 24 foot cruiser racer came straight down. Not to worry, I was with my Son and we pulled everything back onto the coach roof, tied everything neatly and when sure nothing was dragging started the engine and headed back to our mooring a couple of miles away on the Roach. We had an emergency aeriel and as a matter of courtesy, called the coastguard, making clear we didn't need any help but that if they got any calls from other yachts about a dismasted yacht, not to worry. Anyway 5 minutes later and the D class lifeboat from Burnham turned up. Very friendly and even though we told them we were fine they said they had to shadow us back to our mooring. Anyway a couple of days later in the Burnham Chronicle there was a story about how the Burnham lifeboat had saved the lives of 2 souls and rescued us and towed us back in. Ever since then i've taken some of the stories with a pinch of salt.

Years ago, I was sailing a Jaguar 25 from Dartmouth to Guernsey. Nearing Guernsey in darkness and sudden fog and knowing that the Hanois Reef was somewhere ahead I hove to on just the mainsail, facing out to sea, and radioed St Peter Port, asking them for a fix which involved me counting down on the radio while they and a French stationed figured out where my transmission was coming from. Those were the days before GPS and I never thought much of or bought a Decca set, so everything I did was DR, done with a 2B pencil on the chart and I was pleased when their position matched mine within a mile and I was well clear of the reef.
Knowing that the tide was going to sweep us east and then back to the west during the night, I stayed hove to and settled down to wait for dawn in the hope that the fog would lift by then. St Peter Port radio insisted on calling me every half an hour to check that I was OK which suited me because it helped to keep me awake. After a couple of hours of this they told me that the lifeboat had finished a shout and it was going to tow me into St Peter Port. They refused to accept that I didn't want that and said that they were acting on the orders of St Peter Port Harbour Master. We were heading for St Peter Port anyway so I eventually agreed. The lifeboat turned up after another radio countdown which allowed their direction finder to single me out from other radar blips, they asked me to light a white handheld flare which I did and then they appeared out of the fog. I lowered the mainsail on their instructions and took their heaving line then pulled in and secured the tow and off we went in the dark like a sleigh ride.
By the time we reached St Peter Port I thought that my right arm was going to come out of its socket from fighting with the tiller as we weaved from side to side behind the lifeboat but we got there. They put us onto a pontoon and made sure that we were OK and my wife and I went straight to bed and slept for hours.
Is there a moral to the story? Not really. St Peter Port Radio's agenda didn't match mine and, if it was today, I wouldn't have made the radio call asking for a position because, although I still like to navigate by DR, I can double check on GPS if I need to. If you do get involved with a lifeboat be prepared for them to take over and try to enjoy the ride. The "rescue" made the Guernsey newspaper but what was written was not quite as I remembered it.

 

[Stemar]

but what was written was not quite as I remembered it.

I was a copper in central London a couple of lifetimes ago, so I got to see a number of things at first hand then read about them in the papers. Sometimes I recognised the incident.

 

[Juan Twothree]

I was a copper in central London a couple of lifetimes ago, so I got to see a number of things at first hand then read about them in the papers. Sometimes I recognised the incident.

We're fortunate in that our station press officer used to work for the local rag, and still has contacts there.
So newspaper reports of our calls are always spot on, without any hyperbole.
Not the case though if the nationals then run the story.

 

[dom]

We're fortunate in that our station press officer used to work for the local rag, and still has contacts there.
So newspaper reports of our calls are always spot on, without any hyperbole.
Not the case though if the nationals then run the story.

The trouble is local and national stories like this aren't written by investigative journalists, they are overwhelmingly reprints of prepared Press Release texts.

There's a fine line between raising public awareness and over-dramatisation, between dismissing other people's accounts as pub-talk and revealing oneself a dab hand at cooking-up a story or two.

Not that the RNLI's Press Office is the first to get carried away with itself!

 

[FlyingGoose]

This is making me chuckle on how we perceive the press office of the RNLI and how they might use journalistic creativity to their press releases.
Seriously , every headline from the red tops and DM are sensational headlines using the English language as their dramatic tool , and we are getting concerned about the size of a wave quoted .
Who really cares ,

 

[NotBirdseye]

This is making me chuckle on how we perceive the press office of the RNLI and how they might use journalistic creativity to their press releases.
Seriously , every headline from the red tops and DM are sensational headlines using the English language as their dramatic tool , and we are getting concerned about the size of a wave quoted .
Who really cares ,

News is supposed to inform and it's supposed to be accurate or at least nearly so. Tabloids get a bit of free ride on this but anything purporting to distribute news should be held to high standards. (This does not include the RNLI press office (and all press offices for that matter), which is code for Ministry of Propaganda really).

 

[jimi]

News is supposed to inform and it's supposed to be accurate or at least nearly so. Tabloids get a bit of free ride on this but anything purporting to distribute news should be held to high standards. (This does not include the RNLI press office (and all press offices for that matter), which is code for Ministry of Propaganda really).

Well, I wish the press would start with accurate reporting of information on politics, the economy and pandemics where lives and livelihoods for generations are at stake. Sensationalism of a rescue by the RNLI is inconsequential in the scheme of things affecting nothing except the snowflake egos of those offended.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Absolutely. In the Netherlands every physician-assisted suicide has to be reported for investigation to the police, which I think is proper.

Having sat alongside a loved one who was dying slowly of cancer, I actually disagree with assisted suicide. For some of my reasons, there was an excellent episode of "Silent Witness" some years ago that dealt with assisted suicide - the person who was assisting suicides was murdered by a relative of one of those who he had "helped" because the murderer felt that he/she had been denied chances to repair a broken relationship. There are other reasons based on my faith, and no, it's not "Thou shalt not kill", it's something much more complex and personal which I don't want to go into in public. But it's along the lines of the "Silent Witness" episode - people sometimes have things to do or say right up to the last moment.

That said, there's a thing called double action. No physician can be held guilty of murder if they administer medication with the intent of easing pain, even if that medication will shorten life. As long as the intent is to relieve suffering, and the dosage is not definitely fatal, it is permitted. Commonly, this takes the form of increasing dosages of opiates.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Having sat alongside a loved one who was dying slowly of cancer, I actually disagree with assisted suicide.

I think it is very important that nobody should feel pressured to take that way out, but equally I believe that it should be an option.

I had a cousin who contracted a form of cancer which notoriously gives up to a year of relatively normal existence and then two weeks of living hell before merciful death. His final year (actually ten months) would have been very much easier if he had known that that horrible final suffering could be avoided. As someone says in today's BBC news article about the vote in New Zealand, it doesn't mean wanting to die, because they option of not dying isn't there. It's about choosing a time and manner of death. The limitations they will have there - not on the grounds of mental illness, disability or age alone - seem very sensible to me.

If the worst happens to me, I plan to jump off the boat with an anchor tied to my foot. Which raises the on-topic question ... which sort of anchor?

 

[mjcoon]

That said, there's a thing called double action. No physician can be held guilty of murder if they administer medication with the intent of easing pain, even if that medication will shorten life. As long as the intent is to relieve suffering, and the dosage is not definitely fatal, it is permitted. Commonly, this takes the form of increasing dosages of opiates.

I thought the delicate matter of "intent" was the difference between manslaughter and murder, as in the recent case of the policemen who didn't murder his lover according to the jury. But manslaughter is hardly "permitted"!

 

[FlyingGoose]

I appreciate this is slightly a thread drift on the op but sucide issues have been raised and the morality of this which can affect lifeboat crews
Sucide is never easy to talk about it , nor assisted , we all have opinions based on in some case religious beliefs, morality, what we assume goes through a suicidal person.
I can only speak from experience and do not hold my thoughts to all out there who have tried or succeeded in suicide,
I have attempted it twice , I do not see myself as weak, lost, or any other associated perceptions.
In fact I’m confident. Arrogant, self assured and hard as nails
My daughter stopped me the first time as I had the belt around my neck as she came upstairs , the second time I mamanged to hold off as the wife found me in the kitchen corner in a heap rocking back and forward
There is an internal struggle within it ,the brain of do it don’t do it, it is a constant struggle Your thoughts are in turmoil , the depression is unimaginable , the loss of yourself and your humanity goes out the window,
I did not want to leave my family or die , but it was the last option in my mind at the time , it was as described by JM a cry for help , is there no more left is there truly no one that can help, for me I suppose I was awaiting a divine moment or a word from above, who knows ,that may have been my daughter coming up the stairs.
A cry for help , in my opinion is what we are looking for , be it divine intervention , a lone stranger stopping to talk anything before we go.
After my accident through tests and time we found out my brain does not produce serotonin which is linked to our ability to be in a better word normal.
Sucide is in my opinion the last resort all hope has gone, and no one is there to help, but I guarantee there will be more pulled back from the brink by those that risk their lives to do so , that will get help as I did and live a semi normal life now.
To mods if this post is not acceptable I understand if it is removed,
I hope I can change some perctions of what it takes and the mental strength to actually go to that point.

 

[Hacker]

Respect for that post

 

[Humblebee]

Respect for that post

Agreed, good post Flying Goose, your openness is appreciated.

 

[Concerto]

Having sat alongside a loved one who was dying slowly of cancer, I actually disagree with assisted suicide. For some of my reasons, there was an excellent episode of "Silent Witness" some years ago that dealt with assisted suicide - the person who was assisting suicides was murdered by a relative of one of those who he had "helped" because the murderer felt that he/she had been denied chances to repair a broken relationship. There are other reasons based on my faith, and no, it's not "Thou shalt not kill", it's something much more complex and personal which I don't want to go into in public. But it's along the lines of the "Silent Witness" episode - people sometimes have things to do or say right up to the last moment.

That said, there's a thing called double action. No physician can be held guilty of murder if they administer medication with the intent of easing pain, even if that medication will shorten life. As long as the intent is to relieve suffering, and the dosage is not definitely fatal, it is permitted. Commonly, this takes the form of increasing dosages of opiates.

Unfortunately I have an opposite view. Assisted suicide should be available. My mother was in her mid 80's and after breaking her wrist, having it rebroken as it set incorrectly and after many falls, one fracturing 2 vertebrae in her neck and knocking out all her front teeth, she was loosing the will to live. She was in constant pain for about 18 months. Overtime she became less and less active, no longer able to walk, then not wanting to go outside, sat in a chair all day doing nothing, not even having the television or radio on, could not read a book - just sit there halucinating due to the high doses of morphine to keep the pain under control. Her suffering was prolonged due to medical intervention as she was too ill the go to Switzerland on a one way journey despite being able to afford to do it. I can still remember the day she phoned me at work, wanting to see me urgently. As I worked for myself, I closed my business and rushed over to see her. I was greeted with "Will you help me commit suicide?" My own mother certainly was at the end of her tether. To help her would have been a crime, so I said no. Later I spoke with my brother, who was shocked. Some months later after numerous stays in hospital to make her (feel) better, she decided the only control over her own fate was to stop eating. It took 17 days for her emancipated body to finally consume enough of her organs for her suffering to cease. What a horrible way to end an active life.

 

[FlyingGoose]

No words can say anything concerto . So I will say nothing but I hear your story

 

[dom]

Unfortunately I have an opposite view. Assisted suicide should be available. My mother was in her mid 80's and after breaking her wrist, having it rebroken as it set incorrectly and after many falls, one fracturing 2 vertebrae in her neck and knocking out all her front teeth, she was loosing the will to live. She was in constant pain for about 18 months. Overtime she became less and less active, no longer able to walk, then not wanting to go outside, sat in a chair all day doing nothing, not even having the television or radio on, could not read a book - just sit there halucinating due to the high doses of morphine to keep the pain under control. Her suffering was prolonged due to medical intervention as she was too ill the go to Switzerland on a one way journey despite being able to afford to do it. I can still remember the day she phoned me at work, wanting to see me urgently. As I worked for myself, I closed my business and rushed over to see her. I was greeted with "Will you help me commit suicide?" My own mother certainly was at the end of her tether. To help her would have been a crime, so I said no. Later I spoke with my brother, who was shocked. Some months later after numerous stays in hospital to make her (feel) better, she decided the only control over her own fate was to stop eating. It took 17 days for her emancipated body to finally consume enough of her organs for her suffering to cease. What a horrible way to end an active life.

Lost for words but thanks for sharing such a sensitive and perceptive post

 

[caiman]

Jumble Duck or anyone contemplating suicide by drowning in the sea.
Please don't do it.
It is likely that your rotted stinking corpse will be washed up on a beach and devistate a member of the public, be it child or adult,or be retrieved by a Lifeboat Crew
.After 20 odd years it is only now that I can look at a defrosting turkey fillet from Iceland and not be feel revulsion.
This after we picked up the headless, stinking, putrid corpse with 'flesh' dripping off it, of a suicide that had driven off a cliff some weeks ago further down the coast.
Every living thing in the sea had taken a bite out of it including birds.
After we got rid of the bloated mess I remember seeing something on the Lifeboat deck and picking it up to examine,it was a finger or toe bone.
A passing yacht stood by this corpse to mark it while we got to the position.They discovered it by the stench.
If you must do it,suicide that is,Carbon Monoxide is your friend.
Non Cheers.

edited to add'suicide that is'

 

[cherod]

We're fortunate in that our station press officer used to work for the local rag, and still has contacts there.
So newspaper reports of our calls are always spot on, without any hyperbole.
Not the case though if the nationals then run the story.

yes , the railways are not the same as they once were .

 

[Capt Popeye]

Unfortunately I have an opposite view. Assisted suicide should be available. My mother was in her mid 80's and after breaking her wrist, having it rebroken as it set incorrectly and after many falls, one fracturing 2 vertebrae in her neck and knocking out all her front teeth, she was loosing the will to live. She was in constant pain for about 18 months. Overtime she became less and less active, no longer able to walk, then not wanting to go outside, sat in a chair all day doing nothing, not even having the television or radio on, could not read a book - just sit there halucinating due to the high doses of morphine to keep the pain under control. Her suffering was prolonged due to medical intervention as she was too ill the go to Switzerland on a one way journey despite being able to afford to do it. I can still remember the day she phoned me at work, wanting to see me urgently. As I worked for myself, I closed my business and rushed over to see her. I was greeted with "Will you help me commit suicide?" My own mother certainly was at the end of her tether. To help her would have been a crime, so I said no. Later I spoke with my brother, who was shocked. Some months later after numerous stays in hospital to make her (feel) better, she decided the only control over her own fate was to stop eating. It took 17 days for her emancipated body to finally consume enough of her organs for her suffering to cease. What a horrible way to end an active life.

Thank you Concerto very well put, in a nutshell; the TRUE facts you state very well; thank you; if someone is dying from a terminal illness, any treatment to remedy the sittuation and stop the person dying having been withdrawn, what is the alternative for that person? From personal experience, not long ago, the person can choose not to eat, and so gradually starve themselves to death, getting an organ failure; its a long process not a good experience at all, for the Person involved, their family, their nurses and carers, the possible ONLY medical intervention is by a Dr or Nurse to administer Pain Relief drugs that will make dying more painless but not sure that the patients mind is put to rest though whilst awaiting the enevitable last minutes of trauma and stress ?

All in all i would state firmly that dying a natural death is not necessary a good kind way to go, when the end result is certain plus enevtiable there are other methods available

 

[cherod]

No words can say anything concerto . So I will say nothing but I hear your story

i would say that there is a world of difference between an aged lady with severe pain and no hope of recovery and that of a middle aged physically healthy male with half a life time ahead but with some mental issues which ( have obviously ) can be helped . just to emphasise that cases can and are very different and no hard or fast doctrine can possibly cover them all .