Trainee Yachtsman rescued by the RNLI

[Lakesailor]

Well thank heavens the RNLI were there

and gave advice on keeping him warm

to the Sailing Club" who had obviously never come across the situation of cold and wet trainee yachtsmen before. Well done.

 

[Magaz97]

Do you think he should have been left to get battered against the pier until the safety boat got there? It's not some walk on thing with ice cream and a punch and judy show.

But the conditions were nothing like this picture. The wind was from the West and the sea was quite smooth. Granted the tide runs fast out of the Tyne and he would have been pushed onto the rocks at the base of the pier. there was however a safety boat in close attendance, as he was being instructed on how to be a yachtsman.
My point was not about the fact that he needed to be rescued, that he was rescued or whom in fact did the rescue, it was about the sensational way it was reported. I dont think it was a fair reflection on what actually happened. Which, when you read the report, was not actually very much.

A dinghy sailor was rescued from a lee shore by the pilot boat and was taken for a warm at the RNLI station.

 

[BruceDanforth]

If you read the comments the safety boat asked Tyne vts for assistance. The RNLI launched their rib and the Pilot boat also responded getting there first. The reporting seems pretty matter of fact to me.

 

[Magaz97]

If you read the comments the safety boat asked Tyne vts for assistance. The RNLI launched their rib and the Pilot boat also responded getting there first. The reporting seems pretty matter of fact to me.

yep, the reporting does indeed seem matter of fact. The headline seemed to promise so much more drama.

 

[Searush]

Ah, ok.

I was imagining a precocious ten year old being rescued and saying "I'm training to be a yachtsman"

Surely nobody aged over about 14 can fit in a Topper?

Pete

I sailed one in my 30's, I too some kids to an outdoor centre &happened to mention I could sail. They thought I would fall in, but I didn't & I sailed circles around them! Great fun, but you do need quick reflexes & to be very flexible.

 

[trapezeartist]

I sailed one in my 30's, I too some kids to an outdoor centre &happened to mention I could sail. They thought I would fall in, but I didn't & I sailed circles around them! Great fun, but you do need quick reflexes & to be very flexible.

Well if we're playing "Who's got the biggest willie", I sailed a Topper a few times in my 50s. I really found it to be a very enjoyable little boat, even if I was a few kilos over the ideal weight.

Back to the topic in hand, I do feel that the RNLI press office is guilty of getting a bit over-sensational at times. On this occasion they certainly seem to have used "yachtsman" because it would have more pull than "dinghy sailor". It's rather in the way that the press can never use the word "yacht" without prefixing it with "luxury", even when referring to a manky old MAB.

 

[Skylark]

Do you think he should have been left to get battered against the pier until the safety boat got there? It's not some walk on thing with ice cream and a punch and judy show.

Wow, I'm really impressed with the training of yachtsmen in a Topper dinghy in these conditions. Most of us were happy to learn in more benign conditions.

 

[[70521]]

Well if we're playing "Who's got the biggest willie", I sailed a Topper a few times in my 50s. I really found it to be a very enjoyable little boat, even if I was a few kilos over the ideal weight.

I'm gutted, I've never sailed a Topper in my life, but I did restore and sail a Redwing when I was in the Sea Scouts.

 

[ProDave]

What happened to the club safety boat? why didn't he attend to the man in the topper?

 

[Babylon]

What happened to the club safety boat? why didn't he attend to the man in the topper?

Because he was probably training to be a policeman - and they're not even allowed to wade into a 2ft deep pond to rescue a toddler from drowning.