Calls to unmanned tender and car gone over pier in one day for Tenby RNLI

The first call came at 4.35pm when the inshore lifeboat Georgina Taylor launched after a report from one of the RNLI's Castle Beach lifeguards that they'd found a tender drifting between Sker rocks with nobody aboard.

It was drifting from the direction of North Bay and the lifeguards were unsure whether somebody had been in it.

The lifeboat was soon heading to the scene and found the lifeguard and the tender in the water at the south side of St Catherine's Island. It appeared that the dinghy had been unoccupied when it started drifting as the oars were securely stowed and there were no other items within the vessel. After speaking to the lifeguard, the volunteer lifeboat crew took the tender in tow around towards North Bay to see if they could locate where it had come from.

As they were approaching Tenby Harbour, a local fishing vessel went alongside the lifeboat and confirmed that the tender was his and that he had left it on his outside mooring after purchasing it the day before. The boat was handed over to its owner and the lifeboat returned to station.​

The inshore lifeboat was launched for the second time later in the day, this time after a car was reported to have gone off the pier at Saundersfoot and was surrounded by water.

The lifeboat was on the water shortly before 8pm, with the volunteer crew making best speed towards Saundersfoot Harbour.

Upon arrival at Saundersfoot, it was obvious that the tide was too far out of the harbour for the lifeboat to be able to assist Tenby Fire Brigade and Police who were already on scene.

The lifeboat was stood down by Milford Haven Coastguard and returned to station.​

Media contacts:

For more information, please contact Lifeboat Press Officer (LPO) Ben James on 07971 463716 or Danielle Rush, Divisional Media Relations Manager (Wales and West) on 07786 668829 or 01745 585162. Alternatively contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789.​​

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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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