Pinho, obviously the aircrews did not self-dispatch to the scene. The decision to remove the Filipino boat crew was made by higher-ups. My question is: Why? In the video, the ship does look stable. I've landed on oil platforms and rigs that moved more than it.
If you look at the other thread on this topic, and go to the site that has the still photographs, you can see that all they needed to do was throw a rope ladder over the starboard bow and climb down in the lee. They could have easily walked in to the beach without even getting their shirts wet, I'd reckon! And if it had gone just a few more feet in they wouldn't have even gotten their socks wet. So what was the urgency about airlifting them off? I'm just asking...
As for why the 412 crew didn't just land on the deck - hey, that "winch only" notice was for regular ops, right? This was not that. Certainly a keen 412 driver could have brought his ship in and kept it light-on-the-skids while 60 or 70 Filipinos were loaded (wouldn't only taken one flight!). Yes, even you could've done it without breaking a sweat, just admit it.
But you're right, no telling what the winds were. Okay, so land on the forward-most hatch cover! That was one long ship!
Hey, I'm not knocking the "rescue!" Made for some dramatic footage of helicopters doing what they do best. But you have to wonder...did even one of those crewmembers look up...waaaaaay up...at that 412 that was dripping oil and raining parts down on him and then look at the beach right under the bow and go, "Why am I doing this risky !!!!!? It's friggin' COLD out here!"