So in essence that was a left wing down, right top rudder sideslip at max power...makes sense, go find the good air...
Kinda sorta. Except you can depart just as easy with left wing down/top rudder as you can with left wing down/bottom rudder. In the helo's case, the cross-control input just keeps your nose pointing in the direction you want rather than spinning in the opposite direction of your power.
Perhaps I'm taking your post too critically, but I inadvertently got into the edge of this situation a couple of weeks ago and half-assed my way through it by doing a half-assed version of this (inadvertently, I'll admit). It actually worked out far better than it should have, I'm thankful to admit.