Crowds have a Splashing Day at Rhyl RNLI Raft Race

The volunteers of Rhyl RNLI Lifeboat station hosted their 3rd annual Rhyl Harbour Raft Race on Sunday, with large crowds attending to watch the teams race around the harbour, in a bid to win the 'Povah Cup'.

The day began with Punch an Judy shows by Chris Toppers Puppet show for the younger members of the audience on dry land, and a gladiators style duel on the water using a large stand up paddle board kindly lent for the day by Green Dragon SUP School. The public were kept fed and watered by The Harbour Hub Café, Lyons Feast Hog Roast and Jordy's Pizza who have all made donations to the RNLI. A generous £200 donation was made on the day by Rachel Astley and Wendy Hughes who have recently taken part in a sponsored climb of Mount Snowdon.

Over all there were three raft races two heats and a final, with local building firm B&W Builders winning the Povah Cup for this year. Rhyl Jet Ski Club won best fancy dress for their super hero costumes & Sunnyvale Camp won the wooden spoon for best effort. The Rhyl Lifeboat crew raft was disqualified again as the turned their raft into a pirate ship during the final race and attempted to pillage a plunder the other vessels taking part!

Rhyl Lifeboat crew were also joined by colleagues from Flint RNLI, Conwy RNLI, RNLI Denbighshire Lifeguards and the RNLI Divisional Base in St Asaph who helped with additional safety cover for the races.

Mrs Pam Povah was attended the event to present the winning team with the Povah Cup named after her late husband John who was a well loved local fisherman, retired Rhyl Lifeboat crew member and sea farer.

Dave Clark the event organiser said 'It was great to see so many people at the harbour enjoying the day, now in its third year the raft race has established itself a big event in Rhyl's calendar and is a great opportunity for the crew to host a fun day for our community whilst also showing people the work we do. We would like to thank everyone including Richie Williams for skippering and providing Rib Rides to the public with all the money made being donated to the RNLI, the staff at Rhyl Harbour all of whom helped to make the event a great success.'

Funds raised during the day are still being counted and will be announced soon.

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.