Winchman

by Chris Murray

This is the life story of Chris Murray from Stornoway. As a winchman on Search and Rescue helicopters, for 22 years he was involved in the rescue of many people from the seas and mountains around the north of Scotland and further afield. He details his exploits from his early days as a Royal Navy diver in the elite Faslane diving team, disabling explosive devices; as a civilian diver working offshore for various companies and finally - 22 years as the winchman on a Sikorsky S61; frequently hanging from a wire in stormy seas and snowstorms, risking his life to aid fishing vessels in distress and on one memorable occasion, receiving the Queen's Gallantry medal for the rescue of crewmen from the fishing vessel The Hansa. Includes 32 pages of photographs.

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2013

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Likeable bloke writes memoirs. After a career in the navy as a diver, he becomes a search and rescue winchman. And this is what he did. With just a few of his thoughts on stuff. I'd buy him a pint, but also an editor - it's nearly halfway through before he's a winchman, and the navy stuff is, well, not dissimilar to many, many other sailor's stories (some are amusing though). But also, while I give him credit for not being technical throughout, the explanations of quite a few of the rescue processes come in...the last chapter. Er... There's some interesting stuff here, but during the rescue stories, it feels a bit like he's holding back a bit - and while he comes across as an unassuming, thoroughly good gut who thinks of others first (see his career choices), giving just a bit more would have brought this up more. Still, get him a pint though.

[Jody Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good stories interspersed with bits that were a little less interesting. 3.5 stars if I could!