S-92 to deliver UK SAR-H service
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So what happens now with the "Team Soteria" (or whatever it's called) bid for the SAR-H contract now that "Equity Partner" (whatever that means thesedays) RBS has posted losses of £3.6 billion ?
I expect this will get conveniently brushed aside by the Broon one , surely this has to have some effect on the 2012 start of the transition to privatising the UK SAR business ?
I expect this will get conveniently brushed aside by the Broon one , surely this has to have some effect on the 2012 start of the transition to privatising the UK SAR business ?
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SAR
May I make a point as an aerial photographer with some time over the coasts, and also a qualified yachtie...
For a start, I was horrified by the steps taking out lighthouse lookouts, and coastguard huts - separate issues.
As a yachtie on the south coast, Portland Bill / Race is our personal Cape Horn, fine on a good day, but a killer if the forecast and one's judgement is slightly out.
Yes, talking from experience a long time ago, took years off my life but no fatalities & no SAR involved, but people have often called out for less, and to be honest if my crew ( novice but unphased girlfriend ) or boat had an injury or something nasty, which we were offered the opportunity of more than once, we would have been in deep s****.
As I understand it, there's a helo / SAR base at Portland or nearby ( brainfade, I forget the name, HMS Osprey ? ); believe me it's essential for SAR, for anything venturing on the seas around.
I may add, I'm sure most will have seen the film ' The Cruel Sea ' - the shots of the corvettes & other warships pitching half out of the water were filmed in Portland Race, and the Ships Pilot instructions say even big ships should avoid it; then on a calm day when one has calculated the tides right, one might say ' what's the fuss ' !
Lookout coastguards, a true 1st line and lifesavers, has passed on to amateurs who do it when they can, a move which I and other seagoing types consider nothing short of criminal; surely this country can afford a few people to keep a manual 24/7 lookout...
For both life saving and anti-smuggling purposes, I despair that we can't deploy a few proper forces people ( NVG's etc ) to man these places - relative luxury to most service people though as the lookout positions - even if now mainly defunct - are well known a roving patrol is called for.
Back to SAR, we need & appreciate what you do, as present things stand, though I'm very pro-defence and am ex-Harrier worker, I have only wondered why the hell ALL hospitals don't have helicopters, not funded by charity, let alone the forces needs which are obviously great.
At my sailing club we're currently being hassled by a ' little empire ' connected to the local council who want to build a cyle path among our beloved & hard paid for boats, while literally a few feet away is a wide footpath; gits are making well paying lifestyles out of such daft things ( on OUR money ) meanwhile hospitals and schools are closing down...
If SAR goes private, I and a lot of others - fishermen, yachties, oil rig types etc, are presuming - and hoping desparately in more ways than one - that ex-services people will be at the controls.
For a start, I was horrified by the steps taking out lighthouse lookouts, and coastguard huts - separate issues.
As a yachtie on the south coast, Portland Bill / Race is our personal Cape Horn, fine on a good day, but a killer if the forecast and one's judgement is slightly out.
Yes, talking from experience a long time ago, took years off my life but no fatalities & no SAR involved, but people have often called out for less, and to be honest if my crew ( novice but unphased girlfriend ) or boat had an injury or something nasty, which we were offered the opportunity of more than once, we would have been in deep s****.
As I understand it, there's a helo / SAR base at Portland or nearby ( brainfade, I forget the name, HMS Osprey ? ); believe me it's essential for SAR, for anything venturing on the seas around.
I may add, I'm sure most will have seen the film ' The Cruel Sea ' - the shots of the corvettes & other warships pitching half out of the water were filmed in Portland Race, and the Ships Pilot instructions say even big ships should avoid it; then on a calm day when one has calculated the tides right, one might say ' what's the fuss ' !
Lookout coastguards, a true 1st line and lifesavers, has passed on to amateurs who do it when they can, a move which I and other seagoing types consider nothing short of criminal; surely this country can afford a few people to keep a manual 24/7 lookout...
For both life saving and anti-smuggling purposes, I despair that we can't deploy a few proper forces people ( NVG's etc ) to man these places - relative luxury to most service people though as the lookout positions - even if now mainly defunct - are well known a roving patrol is called for.
Back to SAR, we need & appreciate what you do, as present things stand, though I'm very pro-defence and am ex-Harrier worker, I have only wondered why the hell ALL hospitals don't have helicopters, not funded by charity, let alone the forces needs which are obviously great.
At my sailing club we're currently being hassled by a ' little empire ' connected to the local council who want to build a cyle path among our beloved & hard paid for boats, while literally a few feet away is a wide footpath; gits are making well paying lifestyles out of such daft things ( on OUR money ) meanwhile hospitals and schools are closing down...
If SAR goes private, I and a lot of others - fishermen, yachties, oil rig types etc, are presuming - and hoping desparately in more ways than one - that ex-services people will be at the controls.
Last edited by Double Zero; 10th Mar 2010 at 11:23.
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S-92 to deliver UK SAR-H service
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If SAR goes private, I and a lot of others - fishermen, yachties, oil rig types etc, are presuming - and hoping desparately in more ways than one - that ex-services people will be at the controls.
As ex-military aircrew I can assure you that the Civilian folks I work with now are top notch and you wouldnt know the difference between a civil or military crew as you were dragged from the sea (though there is a clue in the colur of the helicopter at the moment).
Anyway, back to the thread
Regards and safe sailing
