Читать книгу Into the Abyss. Diving to Adventure in the Liquid World онлайн

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A large dredger platform had been moored just outside the entrance to the harbour over the course of the preceding week. I now became aware of a small grey Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) heading off from it and making a bee line for our position at great speed. They must have seen what had happened and were coming over to have a go at bringing my boat under control.

There were three crew in the RIB, all in work boiler suits, peaked caps and steel capped work boots. They handled their boat well and with ease as it sped past us and headed straight for my boat. As they approached, the cox started to track my boat as it circled. Gradually, after sizing up the situation, he started to edge his RIB closer and closer to my careering inflatable.

The gap was perhaps 20 feet at first, and then the RIB edged closer to 15 feet, then 10 feet, then 5 feet.

Before long the RIB was side by side by my boat tracking it perfectly as it circled. I was hugely impressed by the skill and seamanship shown by the cox as my boat wasn’t taking a true course and was bumping and changing course every now and then. The cox had to react immediately to all these sudden changes in direction but did so as if he had been doing it all his life.