Maritime search and rescue - Documentary

these are the most dangerous waters in the world this is a French fishing trawler the water is getting more and more dangerous [Music] constant streams of tankers sail by there are plenty of rocks and gusts from the storm could sink any ship afloat [Music] it's about that sinking [Music] we say king we're sinking these waters respected and feared by sailors around the world are off the coast of Brittany in Northwest France they're called the passage of you shunt each year shipwrecks claimed the lives of dozens on board and ecological catastrophes have happened here all too often during stormy weather lifeboat crews are on 24-hour standby professionals or just volunteers ready to save the lives of others even if it means risking their own winters are their busiest time in the porter breasts and the crew of the ab a bull bond is monitoring weather reports on board the a bales Captain Charles gladden nicknamed Carlos is getting ready to cast off he's a legend in this town of seafarers were over the past 20 years he's been involved with or led most of the major local rescue operations soon as the winds reach 40 kilometres an hour the authorities send us out by then there are storm warning so we might take up position close to the sea lanes now we're off towards you shan't close to where there might be any trouble Karlis tears into position exactly at the entrance to the Straits warning strong gusts of wind and heavy to very heavy seas heavy swells from the West are expected tomorrow night off the Cape of brittany in the atlantic closed at You shant the first gusts are being felt as he heads further out to sea Carlos's vessel passes an increasing number of local boats sailing in the opposite direction sailors here no it's unwise to risk the open seas in stormy weather fishermen and yachtsman alike are all heading for shelter after a one-hour journey the Abbaye arrives off the island of You shant in the bay of stiff well protected by a natural rock barrier here the tugboat is in its element at the entrance to the straits ready to aid those in distress at a moment's notice over the past 20 years Carlos has come to know the waters of You shant well there's some very strong currents as mist and there's rocks scattered just about everywhere around and there are a lot of vessels that use these waters merchant ships of course so we weigh up all the factors and elements each time a ship gets closer to and on average there are about 150 vessels that come through here a day in the cotton town area there are 250 to 300 ships a day and over in the pas-de-calais up here as many as 500 a day so the more ships there are the more chance of a collision Mabon day off in order to avoid collisions the ships follow strict maritime traffic regulations the boats heading west are in the red lane those heading east in the green lanes so-called you shan't see lanes and within the zone ships are expressly forbidden to cross lanes outside the zone it's a different story however and it's virtually a free-for-all all sorts of vessels vie for the narrow passage including the frequent channel ferries that cross to and fro between France and England and the large number of fishing boats that cast their nets amidst the tankers enormous tankers that bear down on the sea lanes with apparent disregard to the danger container ships and tankers both transporting the chemicals and fuels that Europe needs monsters such as these more than 200 meters long and laden with as much Freight as can be carried by 8,000 trucks they need at least 10 kilometers to come to a halt from the bridge visibility is zero these huge vessels are often the cause of some of the worst disasters at sea at the helicopter base of Lombok near Brest rescue crews are on standby and as the weather continues to close in no they might be called into action at any time let me do the weather's well let's say it's Vera the seas are now very heavy so we'll soon see what what'll happen in this area da goos Meany also known as Gus is ready to take off aged 50 Gus is one of the most experienced pilots in the French Navy he's clocked up six and a half thousand hours in the air being involved in hundreds of rescue operations and saved the lives of dozens of people next door meteorologists Philip Don airs focusing on the depression that is threatening to get worse what concerns him most is the cumulus Nimbus clouds which are a threat to the helicopter pilots thank you song some of them which are well it's a well-developed can smash a plane in tube cylinder all sixes are extremely violent there's a lot of ice locked up in those clouds which could freeze an airplane it's exactly what you don't want if you're flying on set whiskey 4x4 chipmunk over radio yet left of course inside there's also like me an electrical interference every kind of weather phenomena you could come across in the sort of cloud the storm is increasing in intensity back at base Gus is getting the latest weather updates 40 knots out there 290 rain and partial storm conditions there's good radar indicators and you'll be up against 50 knot winds not saying well easily 40 on average in addition to the weather there's also some other bad news the barge has slipped loose from its tugboat the rogue barge is 90 metres long 40 metres wide the size of a soccer pitch 1,700 tons of steel that could easily sink a fishing boat or eviscerate a cargo vessel [Music] at marine operation headquarters the nerve center is in this bunker usually out-of-bounds to the cameras the crisis unit has gathered to decide what action to take [Music] the progress of the storm is followed live on the screens for something dodgy it's a potential danger because if it runs the ground well you can imagine something as big as a soccer pitch made of steel it could crush just about anything do some serious damage the barge has to be brought under control and quickly cuz Meany and his crew get the order from the commander [Music] on board the helicopter are five men including a diver out at sea the weather is getting even worse it's going to get pretty rough out there well just try and monitor it every time because meaning is crew head out to sea they know they're putting their lives at risk or anyone's I have to do this really like the other side matter being organized having your head screwed on straight if getting down to business it's not something every pilot could do that most of the pilots in the fleet are experienced and others that make up the rescue crews we're trained for this what are the qualities to make up a good pilot not sure there are qualities as such just a matter experience yabai is on the scene to its job to tow the barge not an easy task and it'll need help from Gus's helicopter [Music] luckily the storm seems to abate well conditions aren't quite as bad as the experts thought they might be which is a good job with the depression stopping just a few hundred metres away because Meany arrives in the area I must be the barge down there on the right and there's the obey yep that must be a lob a bull boom gets into position I'm gonna reduce speed the obey reverses into position if she strikes the barge she might sink because meanie hovers overhead ready to help out if you cable thence away the Italian tug that lost the barge the obey continues on its course cuz me need physician says helicopter ready for action when the storm suddenly takes a turn for the worse they're shipping water now dammit despite seven meter swells the obey gradually gets closer I can see some lathes on board under these two containers the tug is now just a few dozen meters from the barge everyone is in position and the operation can begin vertical arrival there are two phases the first is for the helicopter to pick up the technician on board the eBay forward three meters we'll pull them ready three two one poll 90 feet go left 100 feet 110 feet 110 feet 130 our people are good we've taken them off the boat okay here they are let's unhook them the second phase is dropping the technician onto the rogue barge before that though a diver on board the helicopter heads down to secure the vessel buffeted by the storm the barge sways wildly rising and falling seven or eight meters hundred feet keep an eye on the MA it's over there right in the middle stop ahead vertical try and hold this position 60 feet the divers going down vertical any wrong move and the diver might crash into the barge amita to go platforms moving he's down hookers loose I'm bringing up the hook perfect I think it's a real mess down Maria the barge has been wrecked by the storms okay she's ready ready to descend now it's the turn of the technician from the obey to go down at the end of the wire he's ready he's outside and descending five metres divert from the choppers responsible for making sure the technician gets onto the barge stop okay the divers got him he's down and the hook is free as far as Gus is concerned the first part of the mission is a complete success in the meanwhile the a babe or ball continues its approach the crew is preparing to launch ropes across to the two men on the stricken vessel to make this task easier the MA is now just a short distance away from the barge how close they're getting now to the bar shop that's impressive they're not scared of anything those boys the Rope is launched and the diver and technician on board the barge secure the line the barge is now attached to the obey is wild right finally over [Music] the operation is a success the shipping lanes have been made safe yabai heads back to port with the barge in terve yet another mission accomplished by goose meanie in his career he's helped save not just many ships from sinking but also many human lives how long have you been doing this more than 30 years we kept track of how many rescues or how many people you saved yes I am at 167 168 with this one [Music] but to Gus what's important is not just helping to avoid catastrophes and saving the lives of sailors job of a pilot is to take his craft fly it where it needs to go carry out his mission and bring it and the entire crew back safely it's a point of honour for me to head out with my crew on difficult missions to bring everyone back home in one piece so that way I don't have someone's wife who comes up to me one day and says what did you do [Music] and for more than 20 years Gus has always brought everyone safely back home one of the reasons he's so respected by the men of 32f squadron 32 F is the Lambayeque squadron seven supervillain helicopters crewed by a team of 80 men on constant standby these are exceptionally powerful machines equally capable of flying by night and in the worst weather we're really at the tip of France it's a bit like the end of the earth would you know obviously it's an important fishing area than what lots of small ports all around the ship and set sail it he often fish really terrible conditions well then he's they know that we're here also forget into trouble they're not to worry they're the ones you need to help often them well fairly often cherry is one such fisherman he's been plying the waters off Cape Finisterre for lobster and fish for more than 25 years he started going to sea at age 14 he is now what is known as a fishing boss the boat belongs to him and he has a crew of two on board there is plenty of potentially dangerous equipment it's a dangerous job we spend I don't know 75% of our time on on water and the majority of the French people worked 35 hours a week we could do 35 hours in just two days sometimes hard work and sacrifice since fishing has to pay to maintain the boat and feed to his family at sea the saying goes life gets harder and harder for the fisherman Jerry and his small crew often work two days and two nights non-stop without rest or sleep always on their feet we do work really long hours sometimes so long that the body says stop I'd known one guy who suffered from a broken bone a fracture caused entirely by tiredness he was so tired that when he fell just ten centimeters he broke a bone just from being tired there's other things too like your back our backs are strained during the sort of work so there are lots of sailors who have back problems plus we're always wet always under stress so our bodies get run down after one not to mention the dangers from storms which can wash a man overboard chewy doesn't need the weather forecast to know when bad weather is on its way sure if there are thousands of seabirds looking for food off your Stern that's a sure sign of bad weather and then they are what we call the the madman of Besant the birds that come out in bad weather then you really know that conditions are going to be bad and on this particular afternoon the so-called madmen are there a few hours later the winds pick up force each wave is a struggle cherry is worried things might get dangerous put this one take yours off red but work has to continue fishing requires the same rhythm of work casting pulling up the nets regardless of the weather [Music] fishing nets are to the stern and it's tough to maneuver the boat in such conditions and safety measures are basic no life vests no harnesses this is the kind of weather that often leads to accidents on fishing boats Joey and his crew are approaching the shipping lanes it's essential to take extra care and to keep a lookout for some of the huge vessels like super tankers that use these waters a few moments later a huge transporter loons a short distance in front of them 200 meters long and tens of thousands of tons in collision and the damage would definitely be one-sided [Music] we don't exist as far as he's concerned you have to be more and more careful these days as the crew members and ships like those are less less efficient there's 50 nationalities and unless you speak 15 languages there's only sign language to make yourself understood on board it's not the best solution at night time the risks are greater still little visibility and sometimes even less caution like most fishing masters it's tre who's at the helm in the bridge there seems to be no other traffic saccheri uses the radio to chat to other fishermen to pass the time you're usually all alone in the bridge so it's a way of having some sort of company we kid around sometimes a little further south at the Naval airbase at lund be waved the pilots are scrambling there's an alert and the Falcon pilots are being briefed at Operations HQ was over dere we've been told we need to assist a super friendly helicopter mission that's providing emergency medical attention to an injured sailor from a fishing boat needs to be take the hospital as quickly as possible chef Anup stared into children an injured sailor at sea the boat is too far out and given the urgency and airlift is the only viable solution the Falcon 50 readies for takeoff it will soon reach the fishing boat sea rescue missions follow the same pattern the Falcon takes off first to locate the fishing vessel a few minutes later the helicopter lifts off from Lombok the Falcon will provide the chopper with all the necessary information to enable the injured sailor to be saved at the Lambayeque helicopter base military medic dr. Krystof Bombay is getting ready what do you know about the patient doctor I know his 41 year old fisherman working at the ship's Stern a huge wave knocked him down we know he's badly hurt his knee whether it's just strained or broken we can't tell until we get on board ago that's a bird kissing so all of us professor the crew is ready to take off the pilot issues the latest information about the rescue mission 23 meter fishing boats waves are at 5 meters winds 25 knots we have two and a half tons of fuel on Moore which in theory means we can spend 40 minutes at the location as for the rest as a falcon that the taking off from 2 minutes from l'oréal which will help guide us to the boat and let us know what the latest weather conditions are like it's a typical rescue mission but with five meter high waves it's a challenge for even the most experienced crews at the back the noise is such that crew members communicate by sign language Falcon has taken off and energy on both the Falcon cannot learn after takeoff it spots the fishing boat she's called the Laura the Falcon makes radio contact [Music] I don't the helicopter arrives on the scene the pilot asks the laura's captained position is boast to facilitate the rescue hello this is the helicopter please head two hundred and eighty degrees at five knots if possible copy that two hundred and eighty at five knots Lauro from anakata to approach head first I'm going to a lower divert and then a doctor and then depending on the injured man's condition a basket in which to airlift him off I have visual contact copy that yes to visuals it's rolling a bit 20 feet and probably 15 knots to evacuate the injured fishermen the chopper must perform what is known as a relative stationary flight in other words fly backwards over the boat as it sails forward maintaining a constant speed by no means easy in high winds and heavy seas 40 feet vertical is good just a bit up at the end of the winch the diver he goes first to later help the doctor down on the bridge dr. Bombay is lowered onto the fishing boat in addition to it he's down football the doctor heads straight for the cabin to look at the patient and to determine whether he needs to be evacuated soon have been flying for one hour consumption is good she is properly the injured man is on the bridge the doctor has stretched his right leg and decides he can be airlifted up with a diver no need for a basket the doctor is the first to be taken off so he can get things ready for the injured man the Sailor is called salut calvess it's the first time he's been hurt in 20 years as a fisherman the accident caused by a huge wave that swept him against the superstructure I put on a back there at the door we're removing the strap from the injured man will follow on behind a lift terminated we're taking the injured person to breast you after Bombay er will brief the hospital staff who will then take over care for the fishermen while there was really heavy seas and he lost his balance he tripped over a board in a sudden force rotation of his leg he says he felt something snap you're part of the mission as far as we're concerned we're finished if the doctors and the emergency unit here fully and everything is fine so let's get ready for for the next call Sunday night then it's not over yet you know was it serious this injury well clinically speaking it wasn't that serious he'll need x-rays though just to make sure there's nothing really wrong you'll need to rest his leg yeah I'll make sure it's moving I'd say about 3/4 of all the injuries are similar to this one we'd better go now the x-rays show a triple fracture of the tibia and knee fishermen are often the victims of accidents or worse at sea ports across Brittany routinely witness incidents and many families have lost loved ones this is good v-neck one of the largest fishing ports in Brittany over the years countless fishermen or sailors from this port have been lost at sea Margaret's husband perished in 1973 time however has not fully healed the pain of loss semi-nude play more than a few minutes of the accident I had everyone coming by to see me all sorts of people to come and tell me all about it what time was it in fact it's 10:20 in the morning precisely gathered I look at that quite often and it's still painful to me to show w tu7 time you see all these people coming to have to see you it's quite something you know quite something what's this here well when they come and tell you that there's a missing person then you know you wonder what what you've done to deserve this Margaret's husband was a fisherman onboard that Danny Johar in 1973 when it was sunk by a Soviet cargo vessel it disappeared with all hands I appeal to predict or the worst thing is when the bodies are never found and they find something then you know that it's him but otherwise you always ask yourself the children were always saying he might come back someday something something which I didn't really Albert marguerite had been married for ten years with two small boys the oldest boy is now also a sailor something that marguerite dreaded I tried my best to stop him from going to see I tried everything everything I went into a depression I swear to try and make him change his mind I saw all the experts and doctors but no there was anything he wanted to do with her son at sea marguerite began living with fear once again I never wanted to listen to the radio again the radio constantly tuned to the fishermen's frequency Marguerite is glued to the radio when her son is out at sea as is the case today he started on the Condor that was the first one he was just 16 years old I said I wouldn't even buy another radio I didn't want to have to listen to to go through all that again about the boy not be come and sit down in Tijuana sure mom it was so long it was seven years after later seven years afterwards well seven years after his father disappeared when he started going to sea the memorial to those lost at sea is in the lock to D cemetery is all the boats that have been lost yeah it was quite a few on the other side a plaque with the name Danny Johar it's this one here you see when a husband al bear was killed he was only 35 years old the latest plaque on the memorial is for the blue guard bridge which disappeared at seve three years ago with each tragedy Marguerite is reminded of our own terrible loss he's like it's all happening over again every time there's a boat that sinks oh yeah every time it's the same I get goose bumps and it's the same feelings all over again to reason with you this are you young you always hope it'll be the last one but unfortunately there never will be you see there still there's still plenty of room on the memorial the fishing trawler Boogaard paged with a crew of five on board went missing on the 15th of January 2004 debris from the ship was discovered a few weeks later but the bodies of those missing have never been found human error collision everyone has their own theory some say a submarine dragged the boat down despite an inquest the disappearance has never been satisfactorily explained [Music] more recently another fishing boat that climbed familia sank off Cherbourg the port was stunned by the news [Music] just a few hours after the news of the disappearance the father of the captain loses all hope I'm waiting for them to find my size I was struck by another vessel it couldn't be anything else no rocks down burn well I'm really cross for me and for the others because these stupid things will no other ships will come along it'll always be like that it's just the way it is the crew of five just one will survive the survivor almost by miracle is Jean Michel Guinot the youngest crew member for as long as he could remember Jean Michel had wanted to become a sailor since the incident he's never set foot on a boat again this is where we would dock right right here and he's never spoken of what happened until now how long were you aboard the novice only thank you well I worked on board for nine months we were five lights in the crew every day just about we'd leave with the tide whatever time the tide was we'd set sail day or night when I was having a nap I was woken up by a huge bag and I was right now for birth I'm not really sure what happened next I suppose I managed to swim because I remember I was underwater and then I reached the surface somehow I'm there I only saw one other lad the others probably were unconscious I I don't know I couldn't hear them but I could hear one guy it was it was only view I tried to reach him but I couldn't he was yelling and hang on to a float he was drifting further and further away so I decided to try and swim out to him jump back into the sea and tried as hard as I could to swim out to where he was but I couldn't catch up with him but I see mum I play bocce we could dive upon pure nasional not working so I went back to the life raft and called back a night I knew he was in danger but Laura soon after there was nothing I couldn't hear him anymore there was no yelling whoa I couldn't hear everyone one of you Olivia the rest of the crew were never found from the moment I was in the life raft I began thinking about God and stuff like that but once I found religion I I was repeating my god my god things like that the whole time I was alone just waiting to die thinking why didn't I go down with the boat I should have I was thinking do you think of a cargo vessel hits you don't you think they'd have realized they would have felt something for the last time was if the client familiar was a small boat it was still about 60 tons so you'd think they would realize yeah they'd have felt something they should have stopped at least does that make you angry I was cross because when you see it sailing on you think what it should stop and check see what happens trying to help for something yeah you think my friend might have been safe they just see it and carrying on leaving how big was it what kind of cargo vessel I was big it was huge when you're in the water anyway it feels like you're tiny miniscule and compared to us and it was huge how far away was it when you saw it I was only about 20 meters away from where I was I was plowing straight ahead on its course nothing was gonna stop it just going straight on so nude remember new point Kelly betrayed you yeah it was like if we're the ones that have to get out of the way the guilty ship is assumed to be the CGM Pandora the freighter flying the Maltese colors on its bow investigators discovered traces of paints that match those of the client familiar the wreck of the trawler has been filmed at the bottom of the sea but cannot be shown due to the legal proceedings that are underway the lawyer for the Klein family is one of the few to have seen the video while they talk completely exposing manifest emotion but what you see here is a ship that's been completely ripped apart a boat that's been violently struck the stem that's still in one piece which means the client familiar didn't hit another vessel but indeed the very opposite happened the bridge is totally destroyed for the signal lights boys and the fishing gear used by the crew are still intact so three days after the collision some of the material on board was still functioning this proves the claim Familia was perfectly visible to other shipping and if the ship that crashed the trawler had taken the usual precautions and had a proper watch this would never have happened the incident is the subject of legal proceedings in Malta where the freighter was registered and until the trial begins the session pandora is still at liberty every time a fishing boat returns to port the families of the crew breathe a sigh of relief at least until it's set sails again Marguerite was always anxious to see her husband return safely used to come and wait for him every time always all the families including the kids when they went to school we all used to come out to the docks and wait for dad the Laura is coming back to port today after two weeks at sea and the wives have gathered at the dockside it was the Laura that had called in the rescue services to airlift its injured sailor [Music] when they leave it's it's awful but when they return it's wonderful and after all they've been away for two weeks if it was just two or three days I would be fine but two weeks is a long time and we worried the whole time they're away it's hard very hard for the wives and for the men who are out at sea it's hard for everyone especially when the weather's bad and it's absolutely awful the one I remember me how are you how was it nasty weather very cold still the sun's shining now how surge doing well it'll be another month or so before he's he's up and about so he'd have been out of action for three or four months altogether well on a two week long trip anything might happen things to break down don't work someone who gets hurt is less common but it happens unfortunately you just got to keep going and deal with it there's a lot of stress that's why we always look forward to returning home to our wives we hope they can help us relax yeah but you're at home for such a short time that we can't really take care of you how we'd like to you sort of lose the habit [Music] time I'm sure is always brief a few days later another accident means the rescue services are on full alert at 3:00 in the morning on the 31st of January the HEA a freighter transporting chemicals is struck by another ship the 22 strong crew is airlifted to safety by British helicopters stationed in the Channel Islands this time no one is hurt in the edges hold is 10,000 tons of phosphoric acid a potential environmental catastrophe lose [Music] early morning and DDA goos meanie and his men are deployed to the deserted vessel we get to drop some experts on board to evaluate the dangers the chemical is extremely dangerous there's a risk of pollution that oh yeah definitely a big risk Carlos is part of the rescue mission the captain of the bay is called upon for its technical expertise to determine whether the HEA can be towed back to port and therefore avoid a catastrophe it's a developer you just don't know the freighter could sink within the hour or it'll float in for another two weeks we need to find out exactly what the situation is and to see what measures need to be taken the divers will investigate how bad the breach in the hull is and see what can be done and especially to check whether the chemicals on board I've begun leaking into the sea body movie what Oliver do is follow the goose another feed to the puppy a 30-minute flight and the helicopter is over the ship at first sight there's no sign of any leaks the acid seems to be still in the hold but the ship is listening badly it doesn't look good does it I must have taken a real whack buddy help doesn't look good at all a few hundred meters away is the general grow key a 200 meter long Maltese freighter that is believed to have collided with the HEA in the middle of the night the Argonaut a high-seas tug arrives on the scene it's equipped with underwater cameras that will examine the ship's hull to determine the risk of pollution and for evidence of the ship that ran into it French Navy divers film the ship's hull and it's an awesome sight the HJ has been eviscerated towards the stern the hold has been partially breached an acid is slowly leaking out the situation is critical with nightfall approaching the ship runs the risk of being struck a second time by other shipping in the area are you ready cables are launched as the obey attempts to make fast the HEA and tow it to shore all seems to be proceeding well but it's still a long way to the port of Cherbourg two in the morning and Stefan and his crew are woken to be informed about another ship that is maneuvering close to the edge shape and appears to be ignoring wings issued by the authorities we're off they need to scramble the latest news is extremely worrying the ship continues to zigzag through the shipping lanes changed its course now by 350 latest position do you have it as of 2:30 yes the echa is not the only boat in danger the ferries that connect France and England crisscross this section of the channel on board hundreds of unsuspecting passengers a collision with the errant ship could be disastrous the rescue mission has to locate it as quickly as possible using the altitude okay 130 mph it's 55 knots leveling out at 100 feet the vessel is soon spotted it appears to be a Dutch fishing boat it's coordinates are passed on to the control center on the mainland [Music] it's a small fishing trawler I'm somewhat astonished to see where this variant for them I can see no one on board anybody's seen anybody down there there's no one on the bridge no sign of life and the boats name is barely visible on the hull the crew might be asleep Stefan tries to rouse them on the radio still no answer so the powerful spotlight is directed into the boats cabin with the presser this is the VA on you all outsider finally has a response on the radio the boats been identified the danger seems past probably boil for about because the person on board wasn't too concerned about the radio communications to a minimum and probably ignored it wouldn't surprise me for follow up on here is that it then as far as the boats concern you are pretty much in this case we know its name what it's doing we know it's a fishing boat we'll make some inquiries who it is where it's from what it's up to this time the boat won't be sanctioned but any future incidents in French waters and it could be detained at sunrise the obey which had been tearing the HEA towards Cherbourg is on its own the freighter has sunk overnight [Music] well last night about 10 o'clock the ship began really listening badly and at that point we knew it was all over I'd lay on its side and stayed afloat until about 3:30 or so this morning and then it finally sank at 338 the echa is now 70 meters below the surface with its dangerous chemical cargo threatening to leak out of its hold both British and French authorities monitor the area constantly checking that there's been most built no leaks and therefore no pollution the ship's had a copters and planes either English or French are gonna be patrolling the area to check on the pollution if there if there is we'll need to go in so you can tell just by looking at first pollution yes indeed any hydrocarbons or pollutants we form a slippery surface it's easily visible from the air so far there's no slick but the acid could leak out slowly the Argonaut will be carefully monitoring and testing the waters the chemist is at the exit excite navy chemist who will lead the operation [Music] [Music] water from the area where the ship went down is collected in the tubes and analyzed on the spot so far the tests are negative and for now there's no pollution the surface area around the wreck remains under surveillance to this day at coercing their breasts the men of the CR OS the regional rescue operation center monitor potential polluters around the clock on radar screens [Music] represents a ship some ships are highlighted in green orange the orange ones are the ones that are transporting dangerous material this could include coal chemical products gas petrol but on this morning it's a distress signal from a pleasure boat that focuses their attention what does the boat look like small cabin okay small cabin no rudder controls six meters long color will take care of it but stay close to the phone we might need to get in touch with you the CR OS messages all boats in the area where the boat was last seen we are searching from Oberon class boat a fishing vessel six meters long white please keep an eye open for this boats report any information that you may have thank you we're heading towards some mature we'll take a look around there towards the coast unless you have any other news for us okay great I'll stay on sixty-seven you know on that frequency now listen up for any more news and be in touch if I have any of course the cooks in cook there if you have anything up in the air near the course materials TWD we haven't seen anything yet we're looking for missing boats to be nice to have some air support calling boat at position 48 degrees 12 minutes north identify yourself please on channel 16 / still no answer the only call he seems to have made as to the repair yard to say you had a problem with his two engines with no working engines the boat is marooned it could be floating helplessly in the shipping lanes risking being crushed by a larger vessel the picture of the missing boat is found on the internet and the CR OS uses it to provide more information the boat must be found as quickly as possible the person on the boat has to spend the night at sea you'll have some serious hypothermia problems the next morning temperatures dropped to freezing out there so unless he's got the right equipment on board he's gonna get really cold but then a coast guard vessel reports that it's found the missing boat we found the boat on the spot with him whether you gonna turn back Roger that each case becomes personal really it is a missing person after all so when they're located it's still great news even after five or six years of doing this job and even after hundreds of such incidents even if the person safe and sound are never called in to say Here I am I'm okay at the CR OS every call is a potential emergency no matter how bizarre a few weeks earlier the center launched a search-and-rescue operation after an unusual phone call from the kid why we got a call from someone in Paris who said I've just had a call from a Polish friend of mine in Poland who says her husband has just called her to say his boat is sinking off the coast of Brittany [Music] in fact the story was absolutely true as the pictures showed this man clinging to the wreck of his boat was in the middle of the busy sea lanes by a miracle he'd survived more than 10 hours in this dangerous waterway back home in Warsaw Janos Caputo ski aged 68 admits he's lucky to be alive a veteran of the Polish Navy he was an around the world solo cruise when disaster struck off the coast of France after six months without the slightest problem just as he was entering the Straits of You shant his boat was struck by several huge waves [Music] get us a file out but snap pause it right yeah the first wave overturned the boat but it was okay in that level boys and I was able to use the pump and emptied out the boat in about ten minutes then there was a huge wave that caught me by surprise they'd knocked me down and crushing three ribs and the next thing I found myself in the water ship forges was a active [Music] but thou haven't shed the premotor yeah despite the storm I was able to swim back to the boat and climb back on board the mast unfortunately haven't been was broken it was in three pieces a few hours later Janice or another ship on the horizon he was sure he was about to be saved so much vicious bad thing in the distance I saw a freighter heading a towards me fish battling naturally I fired off my distress flare so that he could see me what sympathy the world's oriental shakyas gear checked it was getting closer slowly heading my way a couple of hundred yards 100 but I get Isabeau so be oblique yeah Jim Jimmy is know she kept getting closer but then it sailed straight past me the estimate restore metal I could see the crew on the bridge they were talking and laughing and that meant my fiancée is a sales down the water screaming at the top of my voice managed to send up the second flat the whole sky was lit up red from the flare at the end of the ship just sailed on by a kid yeah change is immutable trust in fact I was lucky it didn't run me over alone in the middle of the ocean Janice has one slim hope left his cell phone yes he knows much younger luckily it was still working now but I'd lost my phone list actually the only number I knew of by heart was that of my wife when I got the call from my husband I started to cry straightaway he told me to stop crying get a grip of myself yeah no he was right it wouldn't help and then I looked for the numbers found those to the rescue services my rank Union trauma yeah conscious copies of sabe is that intuitive in static Misawa to account of Cheska telephone the verity interdolly is a telephone of our own barber doesn't speak French so she rang a friend in Paris who in turn alerted the CR OS on a physically and as young lemonjon said we ordered up a navy Falcon 50 aircraft and it found the sailer ship with a broken mast yet we only fear of will you I they care luma Cassie after 10 hours in the water it was yeah nishes first ray of hope I noticed that the plane of circle twice as in a rescue mission it circled over me then headed back to land sure then at this point that it had spotted me I was about to be saved because I see a guy out there in the sea the Falcon radios the closest ship and asks her to pick up Janus which is not an easy maneuver the seas were quite strong at the time and they were looking just for a small boat we had found it we had its exact position and an infrared image from the rear navigator at that point we were concerned that the container vessel had not seen it all would not be able to maneuver in time as the sea was so rough despite the bad weather the freighter was able to perform brilliantly was even more skillful since it had to sail past the sailing boat in order to align itself properly alongside to hoist the skipper up on board from his boat using a rope ladder along its whole this keeper I bought this one battle by initially Oh God give a metronome second we - that's calavius that could rot v yeah you can see how small my yacht was in comparison to the the freighter this off-course I could see the man I was coming to help me up the ladder nothing we entry if he - they go bleep report I thought I'd never make it there fact there was a long climb up believe me LC was very choppy the waves would lift me five or six meters and then take me right down again even below water on it that inadvertent keeper at skippers body temperature was 35 degrees a defender he was in a state of shock we radiate the CRO s2 let's don't know about his condition and they decided right away to medevac him off the first medical attention was given by dr. Bombay ER he still remembers the moment well I finished my examination I told the diver okay we can hoist him over we helped him up and explained what was going on and then there were cheers from the ship's crew and the way the sailors in the pole looked at each other well you knew they knew a life had been saved [Music] even today I can't really find the right words to express all my gratitude but they were real sailors these beaches it was their determination that saved my life actually acting will get no yak yak knee was and still is a very emotional experience for me it makes me cry just just to think about it [Music] amateur sailors are not the only ones to be caught out by sudden bad weather treatise on man is the home port of La born young one of the best sailors in the world and twice the winner of the route du Rhum round-the-world yacht race [Music] when your has been sailing in the waters around Brittany ever since he was young he knows them well so the weather round here can really sneak up and surprise you tides even rocks things like that you know as the saying goes if you can navigate your way around Brittany then you can just about sail anywhere in the world one of the toughest areas in the world for sailors here and burn your nose tough more than 20 years ago he sailed single-handed across the Atlantic in a hobby a tiny catamaran with no equipment on board but so ever it bordered on lunacy I encountered several storms on the way huge walls of water that crashed down on top of me extremely violent but there's not much you can do just just pray that's when the fear might overwhelm you a few years later and his reputation as one of the best skippers in the world was established by winning several single-handed races a large part of the work is just concentrating on on staying alive to keep the boat on course in the right direction and to focus on what the vessel is doing and adjust depending on the elements so if you stop concentrating even for just a moment things could go really badly in 1996 he takes part in the British transatlantic race on the fourth day the rescue services receive a distress signal from l'homme born young his trimaran has been overcome by a storm there were heavy seas we were just in front of a weather depression and about 24 hours later a filipino freighter which was carrying iron ore which was the ship nearest to me at the time approached me and in a quite remarkable maneuver towards the wind managed to send me a large rope over which meant I could climb up onto the freighter the cruise was really fantastic I had a great welcome they treated me wonderfully you see cuz when you're out in the ocean you're just a small thing left so you know this kind of camaraderie is fantastic and when you're sailing single-handed you know things can go wrong it was great to get a helping hand like that something you should never forget but unfortunately back in Paris sometimes you do today la when your has stopped racing but he still sails off the coast of Brittany ok take care guys and he's never forgotten in his rescue at sea it's not just the professionals that act as guardian angels in every port in Brittany volunteers risk their lives to save those in peril at sea these are the volunteers of the a barrage in the Finisterre no storm ever stops these men from going out to sea oh it's good for your health that the wheel is General Lacroix deck with him Baker's teachers fishermen make up his crew they are all volunteers the guys with me here are volunteers they want to be here so they really try their best each man in this crew has saved the life of at least one sailor in peril their speciality seems to be rescues near the coast helping those whose ships have run aground as these library pictures make clear during a rescue operation a few minutes later and there would have been no survivors back on land Genoa works at the Port Authority he agrees to be filmed but insists that he is no hero of the ship we need a rescue mission is just to help the others might be us one day your brother or one day it might even be our son doesn't matter who it is and that we know them or not yogi I believe all sailors around the world systems but unfortunately those disappearing there's no sailor would want to leave another sailor excuse me in the [ __ ] despite their courage the volunteer rescue services sometimes can only do so much once quite by chance we came across a canoe turned over and amongst those who disappeared was a child his father was still alive and then we warmed up the survivors and went looking for the boy and the others the next day that we found the ship from the Sun Milo would have actually picked them up but it wasn't a good experience important tears to our eyes actually knowing that the father had held his boy's hand for seven hours and that he'd finally have to let go just thinking about marrying out how the father must have felt thinking I've lost my son it must have been terrible [Music] in churches throughout Brittany there are memorials to those lost at sea the rescuers remain modest though mr. C is dominant because it's far stronger than we are so occasionally we do get the worst of it if we try to get smart it will tell us can you be careful because I know that I will win when the sea is calm Journal spends time fixing up his boat he's been doing this for more than 20 years tough enough but that made me who I don't think we're playing with death you know I've never really felt scared what worried of course and all westphall fool for making hands wobbly legs is just anxiety though you have to overcome it it's just in your head put them under that's where panic sets in and the more you panic the more trouble you'll find yourself in then you freeze up totally but I've never really been scared when I'm in the thick of it it's afterwards that you start thinking about and I think for well that was close too close maybe so you go to the business in 1986 some of the volunteers paid with their lives Thank You pokey for didn't we lost five friends we never really knew what happened to the left one night to go and help a sailing boat that had asked for assistance physically it was bad it was really bad I will search meet a highway a bit like this morning they then lost power on board a blackout which means that you're in heavy seas like that you've lost your radar you have nothing get about five crew find out it's like everything [Music] every time channel leaves port he thinks of his five friends volunteers like him who died trying to save others whenever I go past here it's like visiting the grave of a close family member there was a strong current of heavy winds and there was swept so there onto the rocks just a few seconds despite attempts to to anchor the ship because later they failed the chain and the anchor it could be not strong enough to stop them they even tried to put their life raft out to sea but it was too late the ship was tossed between those two rocks there it turned over and just broke up found the right over there behind that you always think of them when you go past him of course he has always this winter off the coast of Brittany the rescue teams were called out more than 1500 times they saved dozens of lives although the sea claimed some too and there were no ecological disasters along the coastline

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 2,278,985

Rating: 4.524847 out of 5

Keywords: maritime search and rescue, search and rescue, film, documentary, movie, sea, recue, bretagne, france, navigation, boat, tv show, Abeille Bourbon, documentary 2019, best documentry, search and rescue boat, documentary bbc, sea rescue full episodes, sea rescue sea world full episodes

Id: -OFLmo2C-WE

Length: 81min 6sec (4866 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 14 2019

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[u/aichanel1111]

REAL HEROES!