And there goes another one!

What are the chances of that? Just as I was putting the finishing touches to last night's post, the Maritime and Coastguard agency were putting out another press release.

Yet again, three men in an blow-up apology for a boat had been rescued by the RNLI from being swept out to sea. So why is it always three?

There must be some question of critical mass. Two men alone would probably not do anything quite so conspicuously silly as climb into a child's inflatable toy and head out to sea, and four would be too many and too much trouble.

With three, there is also the question of the casting vote - even if one of them thinks it's not such a good idea, there are two left to overrule him.

And so Wynken, Blynken and Nod embark with their carrier bag of booze and their unsuitable clothing and, a few hours later, the lifeboat gets called out yet again.