I concur with that Nigel, having done a tour with the CAF, I know they are mad. Hauling down an S61 with a steel hawser and clamping it in steel jaws, while a landing platform the size of a wimpy 4th bedroom, moves +/- 30 degrees left to right or +/- 5 degrees fore and aft, at night in sea state 8 - is just plain mad.
Those poor Sea Kings get less wear and tear when they are in the air. There is no wonder that they have so many maintenance problems, beaten onto the deck, rolling around all day and immersed in the salt air 24/7.
Forty years from now, we'll have the same comments about whatever replaces her.
CDN RH