on the way , first we encountered pirates ( and that is when i first came to the attention of the worlds press ) and then , on the final leg , just after we had scooted ( its a nautical term honest ) into gibraltar , just ahead of the storm of storms , i got talked into taking a couple of royal navy sea king helicopters back out into the raging mid-atlantic to rescue the crew of a stricken tanker , accompanied by a television news crew .