Offshore incident on the Enchanted

[carlucas]

Was looking in VesselFinder for the position of the Enchanted and can see a course turn of 180 degree and a rescue helicopter right above.

 

Maybe someone fell into the sea...

 

 

Any news from the ship? I have friends sailing just now but with no Internet

[skynight]

Maybe. Could also be someone has to be airlifted for a medical emergency. Happened to our ship a few years ago off the coast of Mexico.

[PacnGoNow]

10 minutes ago, skynight said:

Maybe. Could also be someone has to be airlifted for a medical emergency. Happened to our ship a few years ago off the coast of Mexico.

Very common.  Happens on almost every sailing I’ve been.  But we take longer cruises.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, carlucas said:

Was looking in VesselFinder for the position of the Enchanted and can see a course turn of 180 degree and a rescue helicopter right above.

 

Maybe someone fell into the sea...

 

 

Any news from the ship? I have friends sailing just now but with no Internet

There was a medical emergency airlifted off by the coastguard. Hope  he / she is ok after receiving medical attention on land. Sad way to end their holiday. ☹️ 

[PacnGoNow]

Just now, PacnGoNow said:

There was a medical emergency airlifted off by the coastguard. Hope  he / she is ok after receiving medical attention on land. Sad way to end their holiday. ☹️ 

Above: Just posted from someone OB.

 

[drowelf]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Very common.  Happens on almost every sailing I’ve been.  But we take longer cruises.

We were on a Baltic Cruise many years ago, when mid-day we heard a loud whoop-whoop noisy outside the ship. Went out on the balcony and watched a Bundeswehr Apache Helicopter slowly fly down the side of the ship about 100 yards away. It was almost level with our stateroom so was probably less that 50 feet off the water. It slowly cruised down our side of the ship and then took off once it was past the stern. I asked at Guest Services later if they knew anything about the fly-by, but most of them did not even know that it occurred. 

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, drowelf said:

We were on a Baltic Cruise many years ago, when mid-day we heard a loud whoop-whoop noisy outside the ship. Went out on the balcony and watched a Bundeswehr Apache Helicopter slowly fly down the side of the ship about 100 yards away. It was almost level with our stateroom so was probably less that 50 feet off the water. It slowly cruised down our side of the ship and then took off once it was past the stern. I asked at Guest Services later if they knew anything about the fly-by, but most of them did not even know that it occurred. 

Strange!

[mom says]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Strange!

Not at all. Helo crews have been known to do a low level fly past just for giggles. They know how to do it safely, and the bridge crew are aware.

[Bobbiegentry]

7 minutes ago, mom says said:

just for giggles.

Absurd

[Esprit]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Strange!

We had a US Navy Seahawk fly around us on Regal two weeks ago in the Mediterranean 

[Ofmyheart]

Years ago we had the Portuguese Army airlift our executive chef off due to a heart attack. We were so far out the refueling plane came too!! That's was something to see!!! And BTW the Chef recovered.

[minikiss]

Just getting off this morning so I can  confirm it was a helicopter medi evacuation. Around 11.30am ish yesterday the medical team were called to a cabin on I think on riviera deck. About 1.5 hours later commodore Nash informed us that we needed to alter cause to get closer to the nearest point for a helicopter to collect a passenger. Hence the turnabout in direction. They cleared 4 decks of rear cabins as well as the buffet and rear pool area. The helicopter was hovering we assume for about 45 mins before it finally left and the ship was free to resume our planned route. 

Another of us on board are hoping that he or she is OK in what ever hospital they were taken to. 

[RedEarth]

Looks like they got taken to Great Yarmouth, hope they're ok.

[chengkp75]

16 hours ago, mom says said:

Not at all. Helo crews have been known to do a low level fly past just for giggles. They know how to do it safely, and the bridge crew are aware.

It's not "for giggles".  It is cleared not only with the ship, but the armed forces command, and is part of maritime security training for the flight crews.  In the North Sea, years ago, since the German air force had lost too many pilots to power lines when doing low level bombing practice, it was moved offshore, and done over merchant ships, again with clearance from command and the ship.

[dickinson]

@chengkp75  Thanks for the info!  You are always very informative.

[mom says]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

It's not "for giggles".  It is cleared not only with the ship, but the armed forces command, and is part of maritime security training for the flight crews.  In the North Sea, years ago, since the German air force had lost too many pilots to power lines when doing low level bombing practice, it was moved offshore, and done over merchant ships, again with clearance from command and the ship.

Oh, absolutely low level flight is a regular part of training. And is pre-planned and precleared. However, DH, who was flight crew on naval helicopters  for over 20 years (and detachment commander for several) would confirm that occasional unplanned flybys do occur. That doesn't mean there was no communication involved. 

[tetleytea]

The one time I had family airlifted to the hospital, she did not survive.

[Papa Yoda]

54 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

The one time I had family airlifted to the hospital, she did not survive.

 

So sorry for your loss!  Sad to hear.

[Papa Yoda]

Perfectly legal to fly near watercraft over open water as long as separation is > 500 ft horizontally, US  FAR 91.119  Most often aircraft and ocean going vessels do not communicate by radio as their radios are not capable of the same frequencies.  I've been buzzed by US Navy many times.

[Yehootu]

7 hours ago, Papa Yoda said:

Perfectly legal to fly near watercraft over open water as long as separation is > 500 ft horizontally, US  FAR 91.119  Most often aircraft and ocean going vessels do not communicate by radio as their radios are not capable of the same frequencies.  I've been buzzed by US Navy many times.

It was always a gas when ferrying an empty DC-3 back to HNL from an outer island to drop down and do turns around a sailboat at 500'. We got a lot of different reactions! When sailing out of San Diego on a HAL ship many years ago, loved it when the fighters came off North Island and hit after burner when right over the ship and go vertical.

Helicopters, have a whole lot of different rules. I've been at the beach and seen a chopper do a hover to land in a beach front yard. After a discussion with the FAA, the guy got talked to but not violated. Like I told the FAA guy " some people have a lot of money for toys, but money doesn't give you common sense. He did have exceptional control of the helicopter".

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, Papa Yoda said:

Perfectly legal to fly near watercraft over open water as long as separation is > 500 ft horizontally, US  FAR 91.119  Most often aircraft and ocean going vessels do not communicate by radio as their radios are not capable of the same frequencies.  I've been buzzed by US Navy many times.

I'd love to be on the ship as it was buzzed by a low flying aircraft. 

I'll bet most people didn't have time to react with their cameras. 😄

[msmoger]

2 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I'd love to be on the ship as it was buzzed by a low flying aircraft. 

I'll bet most people didn't have time to react with their cameras. 😄

 

On our 2017 westbound TA on the Regal the Captain came on the PA to announce that the British Navy would be performing practice maneuvers off the stern and aft port side.  It was very cool and we had plenty of time to position ourselves for photos. 😃

[Outerdog]

21 hours ago, mom says said:

Oh, absolutely low level flight is a regular part of training. And is pre-planned and precleared. However, DH, who was flight crew on naval helicopters  for over 20 years (and detachment commander for several) would confirm that occasional unplanned flybys do occur. That doesn't mean there was no communication involved. 

 

So why not make that distinction when you post instead of saying something absurd and naive like "for giggles"?

[tetleytea]

I saw the exact opposite happen in Canada, and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way, to put it lightly.

 

U.S. naval ships would drop anchor in Victoria, and every time anyone got anywhere even sort of near a ship, the ship's loud PA system would blare off and say, "there is a no-sail zone around this ship.  Leave now."    These are Canadian civilians, in Canadian waters, being blocked off by U.S. vessels.  You could hear the PA system loud and clear even on shore, which disturbed the peace in town.  If that had happened to me, I would have paid a personal visit to my MP in no time, and written a letter to the editor on CBC.

 

So I'm more than a little turned off when I hear that the same navy is buzzing by other nations' civilian vessels (who are not russia or china), probably not in U.S. waters a lot of the time.

[RNCheryl]

"So I'm more than a little turned off when I hear that the same navy is buzzing by other nations' civilian vessels (who are not russia or china), probably not in U.S. waters a lot of the time."

 

I know Canadian ports are not Yemen, but remember the USS Cole docked when approached by a small motorboat.  17 young US Sailors were killed in this suicide attack.