Re: Anybody out there in Orkneys ?

On 24 Sep, 16:04, Pete <psty...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
toad wrote:

They 'requested help' at 4am. The search operation had taken place the
previous night and they had been located at midnight. So the rescue
services were with them for 4 hours before any request for help was
made.

No, I don't think so. The BBC says that "communications were restored"
at midnight, nothing about them being located physically.

The MCGA says located. I assumed that meant physically located. It
doesn't matter though - they didn't request help at that point. In
other words the massive search was over 4 hours before any 'request
for help' from them.

One other point - last contact off Iceland last Monday, distance to
Aberdeen around 650nm, would you suggest "grave alarm" if they hadn't
arrived by noon on Saturday?

You can't blame them for being overdue when trying to claw Southward
into a Southerley gale! It will have been like sailing into a brick
wall. Every sailor in the world has been overdue at some point,
sailing's that kind of sport.

The question was did they deliberately cause a massive fuss, expense
and hassle by requesting help they didn't need. I'd say no, based
purely on the timings. They can't be blamed for a search which they
didn't instigate.

A secondary issue is, did they then waste the time of a single RNLI
vessel by calling _it_ out for a tow.

What I don't understand here is, you've already accepted that it would
be rather odd for a 45ft steel yacht to ask for help in a gale due to
engine failure alone. Yet despite that you conclude that it is most
likely it did just that.

IMHO, with no evidence beyond what is in the two articles the most
likely scenario is: Female family member panics and instigates a huge
search. Rescue vessels search and eventually contact is established
and one or more rescue vessels reach the boat. (Perhaps they escort it
for a time, perhaps not.) Once a rescue vessel is present they happily
accept a tow against the wind and sea which will get them in quicker.
Any alternative to that scenario requires either people to behave
rather strangely or some missing information.

The key question is how far away the towing vessel was at the time of
the 'request' for the tow. I'd wager it was already on station.




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