All this chat about chip lights has reminded me of the only time in five years of flying helos that I had one come on was when I was carrying a Directorate of Airforce Safety (DAFS) team doing an investigation into a Mirage fighter ejection.
We had been having a regular problem with this chip light due to water in the cannon plug and as soon as the light came I knew what the problem was but with the DAFS team on board I really had no choice but to land and sort it out. Fortunately we called up the reserve chopper and the DAFS team were on their way quickly while we WD40'd the plug and were soon on our way.
I'm also with option 'C' by the way, better to go U/S back at base rather than out to sea on a barge.
Regards,
BH.