August sunshine brings busy time for Barmouth RNLI
Barmouth Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) launched at 15.20 on Tuesday 16th August in response to a telephone report from the Harbour Master that two dinghies appeared to be in trouble.
The volunteer crew arrived at the scene to discover an inflatable dinghy with three adult men on board. The men assured the ILB crew they were fine, but none were wearing lifejackets and they had not realised how far out they had drifted. The ILB helmsman explained that there was a force 2 to 3 south easterly offshore wind blowing, he gave further safety advice and the dinghy was brought in to the shore.
The ILB was then re-tasked to another inflatable dinghy believed to have one person on board but this turned out to be an inflatable toy whale.
On Wednesday evening, 17th August, the crew were paged at 9.54 pm. HM Coastguard had received a report from a person staying at a camp site in Talybont of a red flare being seen in the bay.
The ILB launched and volunteers searched the area but failed to find anything. The All-weather lifeboat (ALB), with better search facilities, was launched at 10.18 pm. Both boats made a thorough search of the bay from Friog corner and up the coast to Dyffryn Ardudwy but failed to spot anything. HM Coastguard then received a call from a person from Fairbourne to say that he had set off two Chinese lanterns earlier in the evening, and one of these may have been mistaken for a flare. It was considered that this event was a false alarm with good intent, so both boats returned to station at 11.30 pm and were ready for service again by 12.30pm
The station was busy all week with visits from holidaymakers needing all sorts of assistance, one being a ten year old boy with a weever fish sting. The little boy was very distressed as these can be extremely painful. All our RNLI volunteers are trained first-aiders and after receiving the appropriate hot-water treatment (and a few sweets to help) the little boy was soon smiling with his grateful father. The mechanic also treated a dog with a weever fish sting earlier in the week! It just shows that the lifeboats don’t always have to launch for RNLI volunteers to be of service to the public.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.