Busy week for Aberystwyth RNLI lifeboat volunteers
Aberystwyth RNLI lifeboat volunteers were called out on three shouts in as many days this week.
The first launch was to a report of a person in difficulty in the water at around noon on Monday (5 September). The station's Arancia class inshore rescue boat launched first for a quick response and was soon on scene. Then the larger Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Spirit of Friendship followed soon after.
The person believed to be in difficulty was reported as a swimmer off Aberystwyth North beach with a white cap. The volunteer crew in the Arancia boat located a male swimmer in the area, who confirmed he was not in trouble, so both boats then began a search for the swimmer in the white cap.
Coastguard teams then located a swimmer who had come out of the sea with grey/white hair who confirmed she had been swimming in the area and was not in difficulty. Both lifeboats were stood down and returned to station.
Then less than two hours later at 2.24pm the crew were paged again, this time to support Dyfed-Powys Police in locating a missing person believed to be in the Constituition Hill area. In misty conditions Aberystwyth RNLI's Atlantic class lifeboat and its volunteer crew made best speed to the area and stood off from the cliffs until word came that the police had located the person, who was taken to hospital. The lifeboat then returned to station to be refulled and made ready for the next service call.
That came yesterday (Wednesday 7 September) at 6pm after reports of private fishing boat with engine failure were received. The Atlantic class lifeboat launched to the vessel, which was one-and-a-half miles off Aberystwyth Harbour entrance.
The lifeboat crew located the vessel, which had three men and a dog on board, and towed it back to the marina. The vessel's crew had been fishing for around 40 mins and had started heading back in when both the main outboard and auxilary outboard engines failed.
Notes to editors:
The attached picture shows the stricken vessel being towed into harbour by Aberystwyth RNLI's Atlantic class lifeboat. Credit Phil Griffiths, Aberystwyth RNLI.
For more information please contact Paul McCann Aberystwyth Lifeboat Press Officer on 07787 785614 or Eleri Roberts, RNLI Public Relations Manager on 01745 585162 / 07771 941390 or email [email protected] .
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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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