In article .com,
Capt. Rob wrote:
The motion of the vessel in bad weather can pose additional
risks, threatening to crush a person as the boat is tossed by wave

Exactly the point of not bringing them to the stern.

Jonathan, I'm not the author of those comments. They're from my Colgate
book. The bottom line illustrated by the rescue is that they found a
workable solution. The boat may have been rolling or other problems or
perhaps they could not get the divers to drop their gear (which was in
fact the case). You do what works and a swim platform, while not the
best first method, does offer yet another rescue option.

No disagreement here. What I'm emphasising is that just because it
worked once, doesn't mean it'll work the next time. I can't imagine
there would be rolling problems in the conditions described. As to the
divers not wanting to drop their gear, if I thought it would cause
more problems going for a stern recovery (you bad, bad, people, you),
I would give them the option of being saved (and removing their gear)
or waiting until the next boat came by. Perhaps they needed a bit of
motivation.




--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com