js - I guess we won't know if it was a factor until all the details come out. Faced with a life-threatening situation, there can be a tendancy to clutch at straws and listen to what you want to hear. Perhaps there was something in the chat between the crew and the base along the lines of:
"it says land immediately, but looking at the sea state, if we do it may not be survivable. I am sure that Sikorsky demonstrated 30 mins dry running time, the land immediately is just the Flight Manual being cautious. Lets carry on for a while whilst SAR get going etc"
Hopefully that was not what happened, but I don't think we can rule it out yet.
HC