Take four stupid men and the best RIB in the World

[Nemo]

Pleased to hear you are all safe and well.

This no doubt will be talked about in great detail for months if not years to come!

Best wishes

Graham & Natalie

[Fiona N]

We've been with you all the way guys; our heartfelt thoughts on every wave.

Poseidon can break the boat.

But he can't break your spirit.

Much love

Wee Fi

[peteb]

Please do not take this the wrong way, but the true heroes IMHO are the pilots and crew of the aircraft and ship that went to help, especially the helicopter which was operating at its limits. Perhaps we should spare a thought for the bravery of the crew and their partners and children who waited anxiously for their return.

I don't want to spoil the fact that the crew of the RIB acted bravely and professionaly, but one does wonder whether it is right to do such trips where others lives are put in danger. The cost in monetory terms and others lives put at risk over the last few weeks including Ireland by the RIB HAS to be questioned, someone will have to pay for it, and it will make any money raised look very small indeed. I do think a collection should be made for the rescue crews, they are the ones that should be getting medals!

I am sure that such trips would be different without the aid of beacons and satellite phones, and without doubt these DID save lives, it is very easy to rely on these devices, but had they been unusable things could have been very different. This was a very lucky escape, and happily so for all of us and those concerned.

Perhaps now enough is enough, nothing is worth unnecessarily risking others lives for. If challenges do go ahead then perhaps they should have a full backup crew of volunteers who will carry out any rescue.

It would be nice to see some public thanks to the rescue crews rather than :-

- "It will teach us - we'll learn something from it," he said, promising to be back in the water soon. -

I saw no mention of any thanks at all for the rescue in any reports, but perhaps that was edited out by the media.

Just my personal views on it all, so happy everyone ended up safe.

[The Jackeens]

Such a good point about the media Peter. The emergency services have been brilliant here as they always are.

Lets hope we leisure boaters need their help as rarely as possible.

k & P

[peteb]

Thanks for taking it in the way it was meant.

I am sure that none of the rescuers thought that on that shift they would be out 200 miles or so from a safe haven saving lives. They took it in their stride which is a credit to the professionalism we have here in the UK, but still I would not have liked to be out in a chopper 200miles from land, they don't float that well, well not for very long anyway.

Still a happy ending and lessons learnt by all. I am sure there will be more than a few people checking their grab bags, checking safety gear and buying life jackets this weekend

[The Jackeens]

You're so right.
A happy ending because nothing can replace any life lost for their loved ones. Whether rescuers or rescuees...

(I get really scared every time I try to imagine that wall of water smashing into the front of the cabin.)

As for emergency peeps e.g. helicopter rescue (and a few are members here) I can't even imagine the courage it takes to do that job. What heroes.

K&P

[Hightower]

Heart goes out the crew and I'd like to thank the rescue personnel, I heard on the news tonight that Spirit will be sunk by the Navy. I guess a burial at sea is a fitting end for her voyages.

So glad that Alan, Kevin, Paul and Egbert are fit to fight another day, I'm sure that your respective families will be glad to get you home.



Andy

[peteb]

Well yes! there for the grace of God goes us! It just shows that if it can happen to the most experienced it can happen to us, now how many of us would have been able to handle such a situation, perhaps a few dry runs of what to do in certain situations, e.g. engine loss, holed boat and man overboard drills could be on the agenda for the weekend. Even knowing where all the safety gear is, AND that is IS on board. I guess some of us get a bit cocky and don't check as often as we should. A full safety check on my boat is on my agenda on Friday evening, I can tell you that

[The Jackeens]

It's obvious this rattled you PeteB.
You're not the only one. Good advice. It's hard to practice some stuff tho I guess...........

K&P

[Brambles]

I could't agree with you more, Peter.

Whilst I have genuine admiration for Alan and his crews spirit and sense of adventure, the true heroes in this story are the rescue team.

Just think - they may well be back on duty now and have to go out on another shout tonight..

Thank god everyone involved came back to dry land.

No doubt Alan and the boys will be back, and good luck to them. It would be a sad day if people stopped pushing the limits. But isn't it good to know that there is someone there to come to your aid in the event of the "you know what" hitting the fan?

Please keep the news coming Missus.

[The Jackeens]

Sure will B. This really hammers it home for me that no boat's invincible and anyone can be in trouble.


K&P

[Daniel TD5]

peteb

i am sure alan and his crew have said a big thanks to all that took part
in his rescue

as for not going on such a trip as not to put other life in danger is a bit strong

i hope alan get a new boat and gets back out and takes on the sea again
soon

just think sunday lots of sub 5m ribs are going around the IOW which is a big
challenge for us. for alan thats a walk in the park for us its a big deal
all of us like to push ourself a bit from time to time

just glad to see all ended well with all being safe

dan

[peteb]

Dan, I have no problems with people wanting to push limits, but when it involves putting others lives at risk for their personal gain or whatever, then I am sorry but I don't think that is what the rescue crews are there for, although as professionals they would never say no. They are there for the everyday stuff, accidents, unforseen incidents e.t.c. NOT people who are deliberately pushing limits, because that is frought with danger, otherwise it would not be worth doing.

All I am saying is, if you want to go to extremes (beyond what normal people would do), then take the appropriate measures e.g have a backup rescue team, or insure yourself in some way to pay for any such rescue by people on standby that may be required. Not drag some poor unsuspecting buggers out of bed at a moments notice and send them in a chopper 200 miles out to sea. Why on earth should others have to risk their lives because someone wants to prove a point, sensless and could be construed as selfish if you ask me.

I agree it is good to push boundaries, and exciting, but not drag some other people into your danger that you have deliberately caused (deliberate, because you know it is dangerous, otherwise it would not be a challenge would it?)

With your trip round the IOW, I would hope that you have safety boats on standby, or people to assist, although it is not quite the same as heading off into oblivion Good luck with that anyway, sounds fun.

[gavin]

No one goes to sea with the intention of this happening, they are not out there pushing limits irresponsibly, the boat was on a delivery to Newfoundland extremely well equipped, more than one sat phone on board,to its new home, the same vessel as we know has done this before, HM Coastguard as with Irish Coastguard are paid staff, they are not dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, its a job that they have chosen to do, and are on shift waiting and monitering situations as part of their normal work.With respect, no one intends this to happen, the crew of Spirit pay for this already with their tax contributions everyday of their life.Rescue services are there for rendering help ,it might not be ideal, we should be coming out in support of the crew as so many have, you can be sure that they personally thanked the coastguard for their assistance, we are not talking about the RNLI here, these men are paid for their work.We all have choices we can make,adventure is in all of us I take my hat of to the crew of Spirit.

[Wayne Rogers]

Sorry to hear the bad news, Glad everybody on board are o.k

[Hightower]

Not really a time or thread to get on your high horse, me thinks!

Save it for another time.....

Lets just thank our luck stars that everyones all right.

Andy

[peteb]

Sorry Gavin, I may have misread this first post, It didn't read as a delivery, apologies, I thought it was a challenge :-

Take four stupid men and the best RIB in the World

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take four incredibly stupid men and the best RIB in the World and what do you get? Another Trans Atlantic Crossing but this time the other way across.

Ageing Youth, Paul Webb, Egbert Walters and myself will be setting sail from Ireland on Sunday night for a East West crossing of the North Atlantic.
This has never been done before by powerboat and promises to be an interesting trip against the wind and tides. From Bangor NI, we make a 700 mile passage North to somewhere in Iceland (Sorry Bogi, dont know if we will be visiting you this time) Another 720 mile run across to Greenland where I intend to climb a mountain and then the 800 miles South to Newfoundland and all (hopefully) before next Sunday!

Kathleen will be unpadting the RIBNET site daily on our behalf so stay tuned.

So, to say again just incase someone in yeras to come prints that they are the FIRSTto do this. If we live through this one we will be the first! Alan P

[Daniel TD5]

peteb

as for the IOW lots of big ribs have got smaller over night to fit into the sub 5m class so they can join us on our big day out


dan

[peteb]

Anyway, safe boating, and lets hope some good has come out of this, it could save even more lives in the future.

[The Jackeens]

Beautifully put Gavin.

Lots of people who go boating push boundaries.(I have to admit we go boating for selfish reasons ourselves.) Every trip has an element of risk and worry. Rescues and assistance are a frequent occurrence in the Solent (our ribbin ground....) Sometimes we have with others been able to assist in a difficulty or crisis in such a way as to avert the call to emergency services.

PeteB there are many ways of supporting the services including donating. Gavin may be too humble to admit this but he does a lot in a voluntary capacity to support Dublin Coastguard. He may be able to suggest practical ways for you to get involved in such a project yourself if you send him a pm.

I have been chatting to the rescuees and will post directly for those of you reading this thread.

K & P