Rescue at Hope Cove
Hope Cove, Devon
Image Hope Barton Barns
The Times reports that coast guard heroes have been "threatened with disciplinary action after rescuing a 15-year-old girl swept out to sea by a powerful rip tide" at Hope Cove, Devon.
The boat had been out of service since June and the 11-strong crew, fed up with waiting for it to be repaired by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), spent £2,000 of their own money on the work. But the repairs had yet to be approved and the boat - which has rescued more than 120 people since 2000 – was languishing in the boathouse at the pretty fishing village awaiting a further inspection.Ian Pedrick, 49, the station officer, radioed for permission to launch the boat because the girl was already 150 yards out to sea but the crew lost radio contact with coastguard headquarters at Brixham and went ahead with the rescue.
You can read about the resulting bureaucratic idiocy.
We are interested in learning the names of the brave crew, who in addition to their courage and skill, may have had the good sense to lose radio contact with headquarters.
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Comments (2)
One has to appreciate such a timely loss of radio contact.
This truly is horrifying. It appears a contest between Soviet style state bureaucrats who want to exercise complete power and control running up against people who, in the traditions of Western civilization, are willing to exercise individual responsibity. Roland White, who did an article on this issue in the Times some months ago, hits precisely on the nature of the problem - the division of power between individuals and the state.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3215276.ece
GW | August 16, 2008 04:32 PM
Posted on August 16, 2008 16:32
An online petition to get the boat back is up and running
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hopecovecoastguardboat/
Julia Mitchell | August 18, 2008 02:01 PM
Posted on August 18, 2008 14:01