Nimrod recce
I'm not surprised that no one has jumped in to say to confirm this incident, because I have seen no independant confirmation to say that it ever happened.
1. Did the RAF fly maritime patrol sorties in the area of the falklands task force? Yes. Adm Woodward made comments to this effect. He also said that the reports they provided were very poor. More often than not the wrong target was identified or misreported. Woodward gave the RAF a rocket over this and they went into a sulk.
2. Did they fly along the length of the Argentine coast 160miles out, dodging Mirages on the way to sanitise the ocean between Argentina and the falklands task force? There is no evidence outside of RAF folklore to support this. This not to say it didn't happen but given that the RAF was so keen to promote everything else it did in the Falklands, why stay so reticent about this? They could have awarded the crew the DSC!