David, have you paid the bills?

WHEN veteran broadcaster David Bloomer managed to scramble a call back to Bahrain after being blindfolded by Iranian Revolutionary Guards at gunpoint his practical wife knew just what to ask ... have you paid all the bills?

Vanessa, who was driving home to her Barbar home after finishing work at Gulf Air, coolly took the call from her husband at the start of an international incident which would be played out in the glare of the world's media.

She had no idea at the time that a week of high-level diplomatic effort involving senior figures in the British, Irish and Bahraini governments would help bring about a satisfactory and swift conclusion to the high-seas drama.

What should have been a fun adventure, sailing a yacht from Bahrain to Dubai to take part in a race, turned into a nightmare for her husband, the popular Radio Bahrain presenter and sports specialist, and the four-strong Kingdom of Bahrain Pindar crew when they accidentally strayed into Iranian waters on Wednesday, November 25, due to a propeller problem.

"I'd been calling and trying to get hold of David most of the day as I hadn't heard him do the expected reports on the radio and I didn't know where he was," explained Vanessa. "I couldn't get through to him but as I was driving home that night (Wednesday) he somehow managed to get a call through to me to let me know what had happened.

"I didn't really know what to say or do. Getting that kind of news is, of course, very worrying but then practicality kicks in.

"I didn't know when I would hear from him again or how long the Iranians would keep him so I remembered to ask him if he'd paid all the bills and then kept on driving home.

"I heard from David again on the Friday when they allowed him to call me and let me know that they were all being well-treated.

"I heard from him a few times but it was always only for a minute or two and I never knew when the calls would stop coming. But, at least I got to speak to him and I knew from his tone that he was all right and I was able to report back that all was well."

David and the British crew - Oliver Smith, 31, Oliver Young, 21, Sam Usher, 26, and Luke Porter, 21 - became one of the major news items across the world.

"The first indication we had that we might have entered Iranian waters was when I was trying to get a signal on my mobile phone and the network that popped up had the letter 'IR' in it," said David.

"The next thing we knew we were approached by an Iranian Revolutionary Guard military vessel. It had obviously taken them a little while to get their act together as we had already passed Syri Island when they decided to stop us. After checking our papers they waved us on but by that stage the news must have made its way up the line and as we were about to get underway they re-boarded, blind-folded all of us except the skipper, Oliver Smith, who was told to sail the yacht towards the island and dock there."

Throughout the longest week of her life, Vanessa tried to keep busy, going to work at the national carrier as she has for the past 25 years. "What else can you do?" she asked. "I couldn't help but be worried all the time but I just had to get on with it. In situations like this you just have to deal with it and hope for the best."

And, no sooner had David touched down on solid ground he was packing his bags and off on another overseas assignment.

David and Vanessa Bloomer wed 11 years ago after romance blossomed in Bahrain after they met at a friend's house party.

"I was worried about Vanessa," said Dublin-born David, who holds British and Irish dual nationality, on his return to the kingdom after a week being held captive by Iranian Revolutionary Guards with the crew of the sailing vessel Kingdom of Bahrain.

"I knew we were well but I didn't know what was going through her mind or the stress she must have been going through," he added.

"I was glad when I was allowed to call her. We were supposed to work off prepared scripts as we weren't allowed to talk about where we were or talk about any of the people that were keeping us - but by including the interpreter into the conversation I was able to make sure Vanessa knew I wasn't being coerced into saying things that weren't true. I wanted her to know and believe that we really were being well-treated."

But, treated well is a relative term and while the guards got friendlier as the days went by it did not take away from the fact that David and the crew were to all intent and purposes, prisoners, not guests of the Iranian government after inadvertently straying into its waters.

They were kept in a locked room with barred and blacked out windows and the time passed slowly. With only two beds for the five of them to share, the young crew acted as 'gentlemen' and gave one of the beds to David. The skipper took the other while his three colleagues slept on blankets on the floor.

With little entertainment to keep them going the team spent their time playing darts and taking turns reading Around Alone by renowned solo sailor Emma Richards, coincidentally also a member of the Pindar operation.

"The guards treated us very well," said David, "and they accommodated us as much as possible. As I am allergic to fish, they always brought me an alternative when serving seafood and while everyone-else sat around on the floor for their meals, they were kind enough to bring me a table and chair."

While Indian-born Vanessa heard the news on the night that it all happened, she wasn't able to confide in her friends for fear that it could worsen the situation, on official advice.

"I was warned not to talk to the press about what was going on in case it affected the diplomatic efforts being made to get David and the boys released. I didn't want to say anything that would make the situation worse.

"It was very hard not being able to talk to my friends but I was very lucky in that the British Ambassador Jamie Bowden was there for me every step of the way.

"He made sure to keep me informed minute-by-minute on progress being made and he made himself available to talk to me at any time.

"I must have talked to him 150 times and he was always friendly and kind. I honestly don't think I'd have been able to cope without him.

"The Bahrain government, the British Foreign Office and Foreign Minister David Milliband, in particular, worked very hard on our behalf. The Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the British Embassy in Tehran were also working tirelessly to sort everything out and for that I will be eternally grateful."

A week after the ordeal began, Vanessa received the news that there had been a diplomatic breakthrough and that David would be coming home. "Of course I was excited. David is a strong man but there is always a worry with these things that they might drag on so when I heard he was being released I was delighted."

After sailing into Dubai, David was flown back to Bahrain courtesy of Gulf Air and was met shortly after landing by his wife and Mr Bowden.

Vanessa added: "I'd like to take this chance to offer a special thanks to Gulf Air for bringing him back to me safe and sound."

David was also welcomed by his younger brother Ian who had flown to Bahrain from Dublin. "I heard about the situation when David was apprehended and it was a worrying time for us all," said Ian. "I was in touch with Vanessa all the time and she was able to keep me informed with what was happening.

"I had contact with the Foreign Office in Ireland who were working in the background also, so come Wednesday morning it was a tremendous relief to hear the news that they had been released and were on their way to Dubai.

"I was in Dublin then and decided that I should travel to welcome him back to Bahrain. I'm very glad I did and it's a great relief he's back with us safe and sound."

David arrived back in Bahrain last Thursday evening and since then life has returned as close to normal for him as possible.

He wasted no time on returning to the air for his regular 9am to midday radio slot on Friday and while Vanessa would have preferred him to take a little time off, she wasn't at all surprised that David chose not to.

"David has a strong sense of duty and for him the show must go on," she said. "Of course, I'd have liked him to take a little time for himself and stay home and relax but that's not who David is.

"He needs to be out there keeping busy and doing his job. David was determined that life would go back to normal as soon as possible and one of the first things he wanted to do was take his dog Shadow for his walk."

Asked if this experience had made her wearier of letting David go off on future adventures, Vanessa was emphatic in saying, no. "David has been doing this sort of thing for many years, he's not about to stop now. I couldn't stop him even if I tried anyway. He loves what he does, it's part of who he his."

And true to form, David flew off to London last Saturday - only 48 hours after getting back from his Iranian escapade - to report live on the air from the AUTOSPORT Awards 2009 at the English capital's Grosvenor House Hotel.

Vanessa and David say they have been very touched by all the love and support they have received and while they haven't had the time to return all of the well wishes they have received it's important to them that all their friends in Bahrain and abroad know how very much appreciated all their support has been in getting them through the experience.

"Our friends have been wonderful," says Vanessa "and support has come from all over the world.

"I even got a call from Edwin Smith, the father of the yacht's skipper, checking to see how I was doing, worried that I was here alone trying to deal with it all. It was a very kind gesture."