UKC

A seriously scary bit of film from the recent rescue off the coast of Lewis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30936482

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

That's an understatement!

In reply to elsewhere:

OK, a fechin' terrifying bit of film!

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

These life-savers are real heroes!

In reply to John Stainforth:

These guy's were extremely fortunate and also it's a miracle that no one fell into the prop. Well done to the coast guard and RNLi

Owning a Rib myself it's nice to know that there are true hero's out there who will come to your aid when the sh*t hits the fan.

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

Men (and women,) worthy of respect.

In reply to kerny:

not sure I completely understand what was going on with the line between the guy on the chopper cable and the boat, I thought they never liked a physical connection between the chopper and the ground? also the prop the boat seems to start turning just before she goes under.

very impressive stuff!!

In reply to petellis:
The engine would have more than likely been in neutral and the prop will still turn if there is no resistance, so once out of the water it started turning. Regarding the line that would have been a secondary which would have been thrown to the men on the stricken ship to pull the rescuer towards them and also stop any twisting and swinging from the wind .

In reply to petellis:

They don't like an anchored line however a tag line used to pull a winchman towards casualties or stop spinning is fairly common as long as it is only held in someone's hands and not tied to anything

In reply to petellis:

its to stop the winchman spinning on the cable.

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

My word, the fact that the boats turbine was still spinning doesn't help matters.

In reply to drunken monkey:
I have a recollection that it also acts as an earth for electrical charge. The chopper builds up charge whilst in the air and when it touches ground/sea it discharges. This could cause injury so a Hi line is lowered to the sea to get rid of that charge before picking up casualties.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:
No, there is a tail end to the winch cable which acts as an earth. The highline that the guys on the boat are keeping tight is basically a piece of rope with a weight on the end.

Thats my recollection of it anyway.

Edit to say - if you look at my profile you can see the winch earth on a couple of my pics

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

The supposition on fishing forums is that the engine was running and was somehow knocked into gear as she went down.

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

Here's another scary one, Doug:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiIr2XYf6RI&feature=youtu.be

Lucky guys!

In reply to Rob Naylor:

I don't go offshore much these days but nevertheless, that was seriously unsettling!!

In reply to drunken monkey:
Thanks for the correction on the earthing topic - it was my misunderstanding.

In reply to Douglas Griffin:


Indeed....they were very lucky that they all got out. I believe the pilot hurt his hand but other than that no injuries. Scary, but the guys sound quite phlegmatic about it when they pop up. FRC was there very quickly!

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

No worries - Needed to double check myself!