I wonder who is "Loosing the Plot "
One minute you are slagging the BBC the next you are praising an irresponsible person on taking a boat designed for piddling about on calm waterways into the North Sea (in a boat never designed to be seagoing- with only a 40hp engine) with no regard to the people on board or the lives of those who would have to come out and rescue them if they were in trouble.
Bit of a double standard here.
George.
they had planned the trip both ways for a maximum 3 foot swell, they had meticulously planned and had all the safety equipment necessary, all were seasoned ex naval personnel and they were maintaining an hourly contact with the coastguard.
the problem came when the forecasted weather changed while they were on route, the sea cam from a different quarter than forecast. though one crew member secummed to sea sickness the others maintaned a constant watch over the boat and the waves and the boat handled the situation very well (a testament to the work that had been put in restoring the boat and the preparations for the voyage) travelling in such conditions was never envisioned but plans had been put in place for such an eventuality as we all know that at sea the weather can change on a whim. though the boat was never designed to go to sea it handled it well, they even prepared to answer a fellow ships mayday call (but were relieved to hear the lifeboats respond) If they had been ill prepared yes I would have called them irresponsible, instead they had taken all of the necessary courses, they had even taken a trip over the route planned in a royal naval vessel (favour from an ex colleague) to preview their route, the forecast they had recieved before starting was favourable, but once started the options to head for an alternate port was ruled out by the direction the seas were coming from, unlucky with the weather yes, irresponsible I dont think so.
they made the southward journey a week early to fall in with the best crossing conditions and had a flat calm and less swell than they have in the past encountered on the vessels home waters, the forecasted weather was well within the boats capabilities.
As for the BBC's coverage - compared to what has been achieved at royal events in the past, it was truly second rate and a totally different plot to the achievements of the ships taking part in the pageant, many ships present were not designed to be seagoing, yet made sea voyages to get there, many of the seagoing designed ships present were smaller and less capable than those that made the trip.
Grendel