Once on scene, the Y boat was deployed ashore with three crew members onboard. Working alongside St Govan’s and Tenby Coastguard Rescue Teams, the Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics and Air Ambulance and Dyfed Powys Police the crew remained on scene for approximately 2 hours.
No further details will be released. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the casualty at this difficult time.
The following day, at 4.27pm the crew received an immediate launch to reports of two persons caught in a rip at Freshwater West Beach.
As the crew were preparing the boat, the launch was cancelled when it was confirmed that both persons had been assisted ashore by a surfer.
Just two hours later, at 6.32pm the crew were paged to assist a 4m speedboat with two persons onboard broken down and drifting off the Angle Buoy. With no other suitable vessels in the area able to assist the lifeboat was tasked.
Once on scene, with the vessel adrift near the west channel into the Milford Haven Waterway making it a hazard to navigation, the decision was made to take vessel under tow.
After a tow of just over an hour, both boats arrived off the Cleddau Reach slipway just after 8pm. The casualty vessel was placed alongside the lifeboat while the lifeboats inflatable Y boat was launched to take the casualty vessel in an alongside tow to be taken in to the slipway.
With the vessel now back on its trailer safe and well, the crew were stood down and the lifeboat was back alongside her berth and readied for further service by 9pm.
At 6.05pm on Wednesday, the crew were tasked following a mayday call from the single occupant of a 10m yacht in a position 25 miles south west of St Ann’s Head. With engine failure, lack of wind to sail and fatigue worsened by sea sickness the skipper made the decision to issue a mayday call for assistance.
The lifeboat launched shortly after and began proceeding to the casualties last known position. At just after 8pm, the crew located the vessel.
With the skipper now severely seasick and unable to leave the cockpit, two crew members from the lifeboat were transferred onboard to assist. With the vessel adrift and without a means of power, and taking into consideration the effects this was having on the skipper the safest course of action was to take the vessel under tow.
With a tow passed and set, the crew began the 5 hour journey back to Milford Haven. Arriving off the entrance to the Milford Docks channel at around 1.15am, the tow was dropped and the yacht taken into an alongside tow and taken into the marina.
With the casualty and his vessel now safely alongside and being assisted by marina staff, the crew were stood down and returned to station. The lifeboat was back alongside the berth and made ready for service once again by 2am.
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
