Date:
22nd February 1989.

Details:

HM the Queen presented the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society "Edwin and Maisie Lewis Award to the 1987/1988 winners of the outstanding air sea rescue to the crew of the HM Coastguard/Bristow Helicopters Stornoway based helicopter.

Early on the evening of Wednesday, 6th January 1988 a request for help was received by the Stornoway Coastguard from the F.V. Paraclete, lying some sixty nautical miles off the Butt of Lewis, which had picked up an injured man who had been carried overboard from another vessel. Coastguard Bristow Helicopter 119 was scrambled with Captain John Bleaden as pilot, Co-pilot Andy Hudson, Winch operator Vic Carcass and Winchman Jeff Todd.

After an hour of battling through appalling weather, with storm force winds gusting at times up to 70 knots, the helicopter reached the Paraclete's position, but attempts to employ the "highline" method of recovering the casualty proved unsuccessful because of the adverse conditions. It was decided, therefore, to go for a 'straight winch' which involved the winchman landing directly on the deck of the vessel which was corkscrewing, pitching and tossing violently. On hitting the deck the winchman was dragged across it and into a well under the deck where he could have been killed had he not instantly disconnected the line. For thirty minutes the helicopter maintained its' station, whilst winchman Jeff Todd attended to the injured man who was then securely strapped to the stretcher in preparation for being recovered to the helicopter by means of the highline. When this manoeuvre was carried out the winchman and casualty were swung about so violently that at one point they were seen by the pilot ahead of and on a level with the helicopter. The wire caught the undercarriage and the highline became looped around the injured man's neck and would have throttled him had Jeff Todd not been able to cut the line. Thanks to the outstanding skill and courage of the crew of the helicopter, the casualty was safely recovered and flown direct to Lewis Hospital.