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Bintang on coastwatch


grant

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just watched it.

 

The fella that slid down from the chopper was a gutsy guy.

 

Very easy to get injured in that situation.

 

Owner lost the end of his finger while anchoring. What I don't understand is why were they anchoring there?

 

Was there damage to the boat or just taking a break?

 

Great to have such resources available.

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just watched it.

 

The fella that slid down from the chopper was a gutsy guy.

 

Very easy to get injured in that situation.

 

Owner lost the end of his finger while anchoring. What I don't understand is why were they anchoring there?

 

Was there damage to the boat or just taking a break?

 

Great to have such resources available.

 

have a look here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19270&start=10

 

David is a regular contributor here

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just watched it.

 

The fella that slid down from the chopper was a gutsy guy.

 

Very easy to get injured in that situation.

 

Owner lost the end of his finger while anchoring. What I don't understand is why were they anchoring there?

 

Was there damage to the boat or just taking a break?

 

Great to have such resources available.

 

have a look here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19270&start=10

 

David is a regular contributor here

 

Thanks Grant, that explains it all.

 

Great effort getting the anchor down with a finger tip missing.

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What the video fails to make clear is that the difficulty of getting the paramedic aboard was that Bintang was surging backward and forwards - perhaps as much as 20 metres on each incoming wave.

 

Although we had managed to find relatively flat water, there was still 30+ knots of wind off the beach, but also a residual surge coming around the cape from the big seas outside.

 

As you heard on the voiceover, I was instructed to not make the feeder line fast on the boat, or use a winch, and after a couple of rope burns it became obvious that the only way it was going to happen was by the pilot hovering directly above the boat, and the winchman letting the paramedic drop at the last moment.

 

Peter Turnbull, the pilot, was not only flying blind (he couldn't see Bintang from the cockpit and was being guided by the winchman) but having to replicate Bintang's fore and aft movement.

 

It was a brilliant piece of airmanship IMHO.

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Hi David

 

Great to see the video version after reading about it. Those helicopter guys are amazing.

 

Was any thought given to the Paramedic and others coming down from the chopper, being dropped into the water and then swimming to the boat? It means getting wet but I though there would be a much lower risk in injury than landing on a hard and sharp moving platform?

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Hi David

 

Great to see the video version after reading about it. Those helicopter guys are amazing.

 

Was any thought given to the Paramedic and others coming down from the chopper, being dropped into the water and then swimming to the boat? It means getting wet but I though there would be a much lower risk in injury than landing on a hard and sharp moving platform?

 

When I was heading towards Whangarei Hospital in n the helicopter I asked the crew whether they had considered my launching the dinghy and laying it out astern of Bintang. ( I was aware that a few weeks earlier there had been an evacuation from a yacht off the West Coast via a tethered liferaft).

 

They said that the effect of helicopter downdraft on dinghies made that option really problematical.

 

As for dropping someone in the water I have no idea. In our case (i.e.in flat water) it might have worked but, in general, sea conditions would tend to mitigate against it being an option.

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