I quite agree, and the Captain faced an unenviable task which I for one would not have liked. However, it's easy to turn a helo around if it's not required, and the helo crew remain the best judges of what is and what is not possible. There was a classic example in the Falklands where a rescue attempt was delayed for over 12 hours whilst everybody (ie everybody except the helo crew) debated whether or not a winch transfer from a civvy cruise ship was possible - this based on the opinion of the RN doctor on the cruise ship who thought "it would be too difficult".