A rescue at sea

appeared in my time line yesterday. There were some very anxious hours for many people as they waited to see if a young man endeavouring to sail alone around the coastline could be rescued. He was out in the "Bight" in some extremely rough weather. I am not exaggerating when I say "extremely". 

The "Bight" is known for high seas but these were extraordinary. The weather had come up far more quickly than anyone had apparently reckoned on. 

He might have been able to cope even then but it seems he was flung backwards and hit his head. Having recently hit the back of my own head I was more than ready to sympathise. He then did the sensible thing and set off his emergency procedure.

Rescuing him was not simple. A huge container ship, some 228m long, was diverted to see if they could do the job. Two other ships were also called in. The container ship managed to do the rescue after three attempts. It is surprisingly difficult to rescue someone in those circumstances. Do the wrong thing and you could end up killing someone very easily. (No, he could not be winched to the safety of a helicopter. He was too far out to sea and the weather was too rough.)

It was also a very expensive exercise. There have been the usual complaints today about the cost of the exercise and the usual demands that people be stopped from doing "that sort of thing" in the same way in which they objected to the search for the ill-fated Titan.

I thought of all this and thought of how I would not be here if it had not been for an incident which had a much more tragic outcome. It involved my paternal great-grandparents. Great-grandpa was first a sailor who became a ship's pilot and a marine-cartographer. In his early sailing days he went in and around the ports of northern Scotland. Then he ventured further afield to see something of the world. He met and became friendly with another young sailor doing the same thing.  They went into the navy together during the first world war.

During a massive storm at sea the other young man went overboard and was lost. My paternal great grandfather returned to Scotland at the end of the voyage and went to find the young man's relatives in Caithness. There is a family record of his visit of condolence to the family. And yes, it was there he met my great-grandmother in a crofter's cottage which is lived in to this day.

We don't know much about their courtship but it must have been very satisfactory because, some time later, my great-grandmother came out here alone to marry him. It was apparently a happy marriage and certainly a productive one. (There were eleven children.) If there had not been that storm and a man overboard I would likely not be here today.