Mayday!
The Fastnet Race is a yacht race held generally every two
years since 1925 on a 605-mile course from Cowes, England direct to the Fastnet
Rock (off the southern coast of Ireland) and then to Plymouth, England. The 1979 Fastnet Race was the twenty-eighth
race organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
Due to a worse than expected storm on the third day, this race would
prove to be perilous for many. Of the
306 yachts taking part in the race, only 86 would finish. 15 yachtsmen perished.
24-year-old Nick Ward was one of the survivors. He was one of 6 crew members aboard the
30-foot yacht named Grimalkin. In the
storm, the Grimalkin had been dismasted and the cockpit was a mangled
mess. In utter desperation, Ward sent out
a Mayday message on the VHF radio.
“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.”
-- Psalm 69:1-2
Hours later, a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter arrives on
the scene. Observe Ward’s account of his
rescue:
“The navy-grey helicopter circled us. The noise was extraordinary. I could see the pilot clearly, and the
winchman standing at the open door. Within
moments the crewman – Peter Harrison – was descending on a cable towards the
cockpit, but with Grimalkin still rising and falling some 20 or 30 feet, it
became evident that his descent was going to be hindered. His target – his landing area – was tiny. I panicked again. What if he had to abort his landing? But this young man required no help from
me. He was purposeful, strong and
deliberate in his movements. His black
boots hit the deck with some force. The
light reflected off his visor so that I couldn’t see his eyes. This guy with all his gear had a huge
physical presence and commanded instant respect – the very opposite of me:
filthy, bloodied, smelly and unkempt.”
“Before I knew it, his strop was looped round me and
under my arms. The strop tightened round
my chest … as I was lifted off the deck.
About 50 feet up, looking straight down, I saw our abandoned boat and
how ravaged she was. Her deck was strewn
with the wreckage of the felled mast, boom and sails. The open side door of the Sea King helicopter
appeared in front of me and I was pulled into safety.” (From Left for Dead,
2007, pages 195-198) *
Ward’s predicament pictures our own condition because of
our sins: we are lost, powerless, and unable to save ourselves. Unless we are rescued, we will perish (Romans
6:23).
But God loves us so much that He sent His One and Only
Son to rescue us (John 3:16). Although
we were “filthy, smelly, and unkempt” due to our sins, the sinless Son of God
came to save us. This, the greatest
search and rescue mission ever, cost Jesus His life so that we might live (1
Thessalonians 5:10).
God will save those who place their faith and trust in
Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31),
confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into
Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).
He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the
light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6 NIV).
“In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help…
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew
me out of deep waters.”
-- Psalm 18:6,16
Won’t YOU accept the Lord’s offer of salvation and
eternal life by calling upon Him through your trusting obedience?
-- David A. Sargent
* From “The Gospel: The Greatest Search and Rescue
Mission of All Time” in Leader-SHIP blog, www.1001sailingtips.wordpress.com
and Wikipedia.com
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