Well I see that this has become the usual P**ing contest. Sorry late into the fray.
Crab, the RAF winchmen do come off the wire in the water when needed, take the calm morning scenario in Cyprus, done it loads of times, and a couple in UK.
The large rescue basket does have it's advantages in certain circumstances, but there are lots of bits of kit that would be great, once in a blue moon. If we stored all the kit that fit in that bracket we would have hangars full of old kit that most people had forgotten how to use. If it was stored on an oil rig you can bet that it would be the one that had just caught fire.
I am all for thinking outside the box and trying out new kit and techniques, but at the end of the day, value for money and practicalities have to be taken into account. My experience of winches is that unless well planned, using both winches at the same time would put excess drain on whatever was powering them.
Heads down, look out for the flack.