Up a winch and fly in one of those things? No way!!
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No thanks, we'd rather walk ........
From the Western Mail, Cardiff
COLD, wet and scared, most people trapped by the sea near cliffs are grateful for the sight of a rescue helicopter.
But one couple refused to let a lifeboat and helicopter crew rescue them, and kept them hanging around in rough weather for six hours - at enormous cost. The man hurled abuse at rescuers when they sent a winch to the bottom of a cliff to lift him and his wife, a spokesman for HM Coastguard said yesterday.
The elderly couple, who would only give their Christian names, set off on a walk from a popular beach near Skomer Island on Thursday afternoon. The tide then came in and cut them off.
They were stuck in a cove, but were determined to stay put and told rescuers near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, to leave them alone.
Rescuers on land, sea and in the air - who had been called by a worried passer-by - could then do nothing but wait.
As the rescue effort dragged on, the cost of the helicopter and lifeboat alone spiralled towards £19,000. Launching a sea-rescue helicopter is estimated to cost about £6,000 an hour. The RNLI estimates the cost of a lifeboat call-out is between £2,000 and £5,000. The all-weather lifeboat at Angle, manned by two full-time and three volunteer crew members, could not get near to the rocks where the couple were sitting because the sea was too rough.
A helicopter was sent from RAF Chivenor in Devon. But the crew finally gave up after two hours when the man insisted they would simply wait for the tide to go out. All that police and a coastguard cliff-rescue team could do was stand around at the scene and wait.
At one point coastguards drove two-and-a-half miles from the beach at Marloes with water-proof jackets and a flask of coffee - but these were refused. Dressed in jumpers, the couple had little protection against the rain which began falling halfway through their plight.
Eight coastguards, four helicopter crew, five lifeboat crew, two police officers and control- room staff across the country were involved in the rescue attempt. The RAF base at Kinloss, Scotland, which controls sea patrols, was listening in.
At 8.30pm, more than six hours after the pair were spotted, the tide had finally gone out far enough for them to walk to safety.
Tony Rimmer, a watch officer at Milford Haven coastguard, said, "People were dragged in from all over the place. "They were quite happy just sitting there. I don't know what they were doing. They were sitting down there waiting for the tide to go out. It was a little bit strange. It doesn't happen very often, thankfully."
He said the couple could not be arrested for wasting police time as declining assistance is not a crime.
The couple did however accept a lift back to their car when they got to the beach.
Jerry Rees, coxswain of Angle lifeboat, said, "The woman was quite cold. They just sat it out in the end. Usually, especially when we get in there, they are quite grateful to get off there, especially when it's dark and the temperature drops. I don't think the chap realised really.
"I think the helicopter had got a bit fed up after coming all the way. It's just a waste of resources."
An RAF spokesman said, "Most people are very glad to be removed from dangerous situations, but I dare say you are bound to meet somebody who doesn't believe they need rescuing. I suppose it is, at the end of the day, a free country."
An RNLI spokeswoman said, "Our volunteer crews would much rather go out to someone rather than someone spot someone in trouble and think it's not worth the trouble of calling the lifeboat. We would rather go out and find someone alive than dead."
Trapped couple refuse coastguard rescue
COLD, wet and scared, most people trapped by the sea near cliffs are grateful for the sight of a rescue helicopter.
But one couple refused to let a lifeboat and helicopter crew rescue them, and kept them hanging around in rough weather for six hours - at enormous cost. The man hurled abuse at rescuers when they sent a winch to the bottom of a cliff to lift him and his wife, a spokesman for HM Coastguard said yesterday.
The elderly couple, who would only give their Christian names, set off on a walk from a popular beach near Skomer Island on Thursday afternoon. The tide then came in and cut them off.
They were stuck in a cove, but were determined to stay put and told rescuers near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, to leave them alone.
Rescuers on land, sea and in the air - who had been called by a worried passer-by - could then do nothing but wait.
As the rescue effort dragged on, the cost of the helicopter and lifeboat alone spiralled towards £19,000. Launching a sea-rescue helicopter is estimated to cost about £6,000 an hour. The RNLI estimates the cost of a lifeboat call-out is between £2,000 and £5,000. The all-weather lifeboat at Angle, manned by two full-time and three volunteer crew members, could not get near to the rocks where the couple were sitting because the sea was too rough.
A helicopter was sent from RAF Chivenor in Devon. But the crew finally gave up after two hours when the man insisted they would simply wait for the tide to go out. All that police and a coastguard cliff-rescue team could do was stand around at the scene and wait.
At one point coastguards drove two-and-a-half miles from the beach at Marloes with water-proof jackets and a flask of coffee - but these were refused. Dressed in jumpers, the couple had little protection against the rain which began falling halfway through their plight.
Eight coastguards, four helicopter crew, five lifeboat crew, two police officers and control- room staff across the country were involved in the rescue attempt. The RAF base at Kinloss, Scotland, which controls sea patrols, was listening in.
At 8.30pm, more than six hours after the pair were spotted, the tide had finally gone out far enough for them to walk to safety.
Tony Rimmer, a watch officer at Milford Haven coastguard, said, "People were dragged in from all over the place. "They were quite happy just sitting there. I don't know what they were doing. They were sitting down there waiting for the tide to go out. It was a little bit strange. It doesn't happen very often, thankfully."
He said the couple could not be arrested for wasting police time as declining assistance is not a crime.
The couple did however accept a lift back to their car when they got to the beach.
Jerry Rees, coxswain of Angle lifeboat, said, "The woman was quite cold. They just sat it out in the end. Usually, especially when we get in there, they are quite grateful to get off there, especially when it's dark and the temperature drops. I don't think the chap realised really.
"I think the helicopter had got a bit fed up after coming all the way. It's just a waste of resources."
An RAF spokesman said, "Most people are very glad to be removed from dangerous situations, but I dare say you are bound to meet somebody who doesn't believe they need rescuing. I suppose it is, at the end of the day, a free country."
An RNLI spokeswoman said, "Our volunteer crews would much rather go out to someone rather than someone spot someone in trouble and think it's not worth the trouble of calling the lifeboat. We would rather go out and find someone alive than dead."
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One has to ask why all these assets hung around when:-
a. the people had declined to be "rescued"
b. They were in no immediate danger and wanted to wait for the tide to go out.
People have a right to decline to be rescued although in this case rescue is not the right word - removed from an uncomfortable position is more like it. The nanny state is creeping into every thing. Let people make there own decisions. If HMCG were concerned that it may have escalated into a real rescue they could have left one person watching the couple and sent the rest home.
332M
a. the people had declined to be "rescued"
b. They were in no immediate danger and wanted to wait for the tide to go out.
People have a right to decline to be rescued although in this case rescue is not the right word - removed from an uncomfortable position is more like it. The nanny state is creeping into every thing. Let people make there own decisions. If HMCG were concerned that it may have escalated into a real rescue they could have left one person watching the couple and sent the rest home.
332M
The Original Whirly
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Nanny state and ageism gone mad!!!
Let's report this a bit differently, shall we.....
Mr and Mrs X, two country and seclusion lovers who are now at retirement age, but still fit and independent, decide to go for a walk. They realise they might get cut off by the tide, but what the hell, they can wait, they don't have jobs to go to any more, and it's lovely and peaceful out there. In fact, it's really rather romantic.
So they get cut off, and they're happily sitting there, communing with nature. But this damn noisy helicopter comes along. And then the lifeboat too!!!! And saying no isn't enough; people try to persuade them to leave, and act like they have no right to just want to be there.
And they still aren't left alone even when they get back to the beach. Can't anyone take hints? What are a pair of loners to do? So OK, they gave in and accepted a lift; why not? It seems to keep people happy.
I'll tell you all now, and please listen. If, in my advancing years, you see me above the high water line, but not waving my arms and screaming, and I haven't called you on my mobile, please assume I want to be there and leave me alone.
Let's report this a bit differently, shall we.....
Mr and Mrs X, two country and seclusion lovers who are now at retirement age, but still fit and independent, decide to go for a walk. They realise they might get cut off by the tide, but what the hell, they can wait, they don't have jobs to go to any more, and it's lovely and peaceful out there. In fact, it's really rather romantic.
So they get cut off, and they're happily sitting there, communing with nature. But this damn noisy helicopter comes along. And then the lifeboat too!!!! And saying no isn't enough; people try to persuade them to leave, and act like they have no right to just want to be there.
And they still aren't left alone even when they get back to the beach. Can't anyone take hints? What are a pair of loners to do? So OK, they gave in and accepted a lift; why not? It seems to keep people happy.
I'll tell you all now, and please listen. If, in my advancing years, you see me above the high water line, but not waving my arms and screaming, and I haven't called you on my mobile, please assume I want to be there and leave me alone.
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Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but are the Coastguard not LEGALLY obliged to commit whatever resources required to assist people in distress? Whether these people were in distress is debatable, but when a call comes in to say that some people are cut off by the tide, it is not unreasonable that the watch manager assessed that they were in danger (from at least exposure if not drowning). Hence he/she would have to commit resources. Once the resources arrive on scene and see that life or limb is at risk, what do they do? Pack up and go home at the request of the casualty and wait for the journos to slam the emergency services for leaving them there?
Sounds like a catch 22 situation, you cannot rescue someone who doesn't want to be rescued, but you cannot leave them there to the detriment of their health.
Now as Whirly suggests, they have every right to be there and not to be disturbed and they may well have been perfectly safe (which they were if they haven't suffered from experience). But the Coastguard could not be sure of that and it is plain that the winchman was also concerned for their safety. If they were safe from the incoming tide and suitably dressed for the weather conditions, then the emergency services would have been stood down.
Sounds like a catch 22 situation, you cannot rescue someone who doesn't want to be rescued, but you cannot leave them there to the detriment of their health.
Now as Whirly suggests, they have every right to be there and not to be disturbed and they may well have been perfectly safe (which they were if they haven't suffered from experience). But the Coastguard could not be sure of that and it is plain that the winchman was also concerned for their safety. If they were safe from the incoming tide and suitably dressed for the weather conditions, then the emergency services would have been stood down.
Last edited by Droopystop; 18th Sep 2005 at 14:38.
Why bash the folks that did not call for assistance and quite clearly indicated they did not consider themselves in distress and politely asked to be left alone? Could it be these two come from a generation of folk that consider self reliance a virtue?
Am I missing something here?
If you make a realistic assessment of what happened here...it might appear that the two were victims of more than Ma Nature.
To quote the Beeb...
"
The pair who were cold and wet after their ordeal did not require hospital treatment. "
Am I missing something here?
If you make a realistic assessment of what happened here...it might appear that the two were victims of more than Ma Nature.
To quote the Beeb...
"
The pair who were cold and wet after their ordeal did not require hospital treatment. "
