Seamanship on display

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We were treated to an unusual sight yesterday. As we cruised from Ria de Aldan to Combarro in the Ria de Pontevedra, we noticed a helicopter hovering over a boat in the distance. We wondered if the chopper was chasing a drug runner. But it turned out to be the Policia Maritima practicing dropping a crew member onto a vessel at sea and then retrieving a person from a boat in a basket. Cool. They did this right in front of us as we sailed slowly along the Ria. The maneuver was perfectly executed. It's nice to know that there is such skill and bravery out there.



Today there was a Pan Pan VHF call by a motor vessel named Indigo Days in trouble requiring assistance. A vessel probably like this was deployed in answer. It would take them 40 minutes to arrive on scene, we heard the coast guard report.








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