Sunday 29 July 2007

There but for the grace of God...




One of the reasons mankind is so successful is his incessant urge to break new ground, push limits and generally go a little bit further. Sometimes those limits bite back at us. One of the common pieces of advice given to sailors, mountaineers, climbers and so on is 'know your limitations'. But how are you supposed to know them unless you get close to them on occasion? And how are you supposed to get better unless you push them?


This afternoon the ILB went across the Bay to investigate someone half way down Ballard cliffs and apparently stuck - they hadn't moved for at least 30 minutes. The cliffs in question are steep, loose and high. They're not easily ascended or descended and there's at least one extra person around today who knows that for a certainty!

We certainly weren't going up there to help - but Coastguard Helicopter India Juliet was at hand to give the person a winch assisted helping hand back to the top.


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