How much should countries spend on mounting rescue expeditions?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325795)
Rockingham, Australia
April 10, 2016 8:00am CST
I've just finished reading 'Saved' by Tony Bullimore, the lone sailor who was rescued from his upturned yacht during the 1996 Vendee Globe single-handed around-the-world race. Bullimore capsized on 5 January 1997 and was rescued on the 9th.
Over several days, the Australian RAAF used Orion aircraft to locate the yacht. A rescue mission was then mounted using the frigate, HMAS Adelaide. During the same operation, the French yachtsman Thierry Dubois was plucked from a life raft by a Seahawk helicopter from the same ship. The sailors were so far south that their position was almost out of range of the Orions and the frigate.
At the time there was some adverse press over the massive cost of the rescue operation especially as there no indication that Bullimore was still alive. It is interesting that towards the end of the book, there is a comment by an Orion pilot who says that the previous year, although several million dollars had been spent in advertising the 75th anniversary of the RAAF, probably no-one in the street would have remembered anything about it. The miraculous rescue of the two men had done more for the international standing and prestige of the RAAF than any number of open days or displays.
I hadn't thought about that aspect of it but I can see how that could easily be the case. I do know that 10,000 people turned up at Fremantle Wharf to welcome HMAS Adelaide and to applaud those who had put their lives on the line to rescue two intrepid sailors.
Vince stopped off on his way to work to join the welcoming throng. So would you like to comment on how much public money should go into these types of rescues?
Photo is of our friends' yacht undergoing renovation.
40 people like this
35 responses
@marguicha (215441)
• Chile
11 Apr 16
@LadyDuck I wonder if insurance companies cover those people that die doing dangerous things.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (458121)
• Switzerland
10 Apr 16
@marguicha I agree, if there is a catastrophe people must be helped. But when people do dangerous sports they should at least have an insurance to cover the expenses in case they have problems.
5 people like this
@LadyDuck (458121)
• Switzerland
11 Apr 16
@marguicha It depends the kind of insurance they have signed.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
10 Apr 16
It's a matter of morality, not money. If we can save people, then I think we should. However, idiots who go off into the mountains or unprepared at sea (not like the guy in your example) should have to pay part of the bill when/if they are rescued.
6 people like this
@LadyDuck (458121)
• Switzerland
10 Apr 16
@ElizabethWallace Same here, people come here vacationing and they go mountain climbing without appropriate clothing shoes and everything needed to be safe in high mountains.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
10 Apr 16
@LadyDuck Appropriate clothing and proper shoes are a start. I would like to see everyone have a small whistle, mirror and flashlight clipped to their pants or shirt whenever they go for a walk or hike away from crowds.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98830)
• India
11 Apr 16
There are expeditions from which rescuing is needed, and expeditions from which rescuing is NOT needed. People do need to remember that the nation cannot indulge them. If there is a soldier or person from armed forces, yes! If there is somebody who is undertaking some study for the country or company, yes, though costs can be shared. If there is somebody who is in a calamity yes. But going on a pleasure trip and expecting rescuing is not something that makes sense to me. Even if the person is rich enough to absorb those costs, it is not worthwhile.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
10 Apr 16
How much is a human life worth? it would be sad if they said it's too expensive and left him to die
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
13 Apr 16
@JudyEv youch - salt water in open wounds and blood attracting sharks - he was very lucky
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Apr 16
@JudyEv fortunate for him that they kept looking
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Apr 16
@arthurchappell It certainly was. He was just about at the end of his tether. For starters, when the yacht first flipped he lost his little finger.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
10 Apr 16
the ones that bug me are mountain climbers, wear your tracking GPS, so much money is wasted saving people who do extreme stuff, and I am not really sure how I feel about that.
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
12 Apr 16
@JudyEv they should DEFF have to pay for that nonsense then
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Apr 16
@Jessicalynnt Except that any time anyone goes out on these adventures they don't think they're going to get into trouble.
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15487)
• United Kingdom
10 Apr 16
I wouldn't like to say we should only spend a certain amount on these sorts of things.
I think a good idea would be that these people take out insurance (maybe they do) which would contribute towards the cost.
5 people like this
@marguicha (215441)
• Chile
10 Apr 16
Sometimes the rescue costs are so great that no insurance company would cover them. They certainly don´t cover the risks that miners take everyday.
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15487)
• United Kingdom
10 Apr 16
@marguicha That's why I said contribute towards costs rather than cover them
4 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (48958)
• United States
11 Apr 16
I think that we should put forth as much effort as we can to rescue people.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Apr 16
I agree. It's a shame that rescuers end up saving many who have put themselves in danger by their own stupidity.
@Sheilamarie78 (2586)
• Canada
11 Apr 16
In BC we have a lot of rescues of people who backcountry ski and sometimes take risks when there are warnings of avalanches. Some people feel that those who take such risks should be required to pay for the rescue efforts. They are not only expensive, but they are putting the rescuers in danger.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Apr 16
That is very true. When volunteers are put at risk by some idiot not taking sensible precautions, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
10 Apr 16
Yeahhh it's a lot of money.... but I think it's good that the services are used in that way....
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Apr 16
I wouldn't like to see no rescue mission launched. You'd have to try to save people.
@bluesa (15023)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
11 Apr 16
@JudyEv , I just know that I hope that if I ever needed rescuing that someone would go all out to find me, that money would not be put above my life. I am not adventurous at all though. I know you get people who love adrenalin sports and so put themselves in danger, I don't agree with what they do, but if at all possible they deserve to be rescued.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
10 Apr 16
I often wonder about that when ill-prepared hikers go in to mountainous wilderness areas and fall or get lost and then the search and rescue people are called out to help. I think at times that they should have to compensate the public for the funds it takes.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
10 Apr 16
Here in Colorado, they are always having to rescue hikers and skiers. There has been talk about making the rescued pay for it themselves.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Apr 16
Quite possibly few could afford the cost but making them contribute would be reasonable.
@marguicha (215441)
• Chile
10 Apr 16
I´m sure that all of us would want someone to spend time and money to try to save our loved ones if there was a chance, however dim, of their being alive. I´m sure many of you still remember how 33 miners were rescuesd in my country after being being trapped over 2 months. a lot of money was spent ( between 10 to 20 million dollars).
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Apr 16
Yes, I remember this. I don't think agencies have any option really but to try to rescue people.
@JudyEv (325795)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Apr 16
It's another tough one isn't it? But really, you'd have to try.
@CRK109 (14558)
• United States
11 Apr 16
I've actually thought about that quite a bit. There have been so many times where people have taken risks they should not have taken and then had to be rescued. One guy, just recently, climbed a huge rock to do a special proposal to his girlfriend. And then he got stuck and had to be rescued. It was a place he was not supposed to have climbed at all. So now he's got a huge bill to repay. And I think that's how many of these should be handled. I'm not sure, however, in the case you stated. Doesn't seem that they did anything wrong, so it was a valid rescue.
2 people like this
