Boats and Planes Keep Rhyl RNLI Busy Over The Bank Holiday

It was an early start on Saturday for the volunteers at Rhyl RNLI. The crew members were in charge of placing the buoys that marked the display line for the Rhyl Air Show. Later in the morning, the All Weather Lifeboat 'Lil Cunningham' was opened to the public for tours until the beginning of the flight displays, when the boat was then put on the beach in case of an emergency.

On Sunday afternoon, the second day of the air show, at 12:30pm the public tours of the boat had to be cut short when HM Coastguard requested the All Weather Lifeboat launched to the aid of a broken down fishing boat 13 miles North of Rhyl. The Lifeboat launched within minutes and was on scene an hour later to take the vessel under tow back to its launch site in Prestatyn. Meanwhile, the Inshore Lifeboat 'Mary Maxwell' launched twice to advise vessels of the safety exclusion zone for the air show. The All Weather Lifeboat returned back to Rhyl at 3:45pm and was recovered in time for the RAF Red Arrows Display.

Meanwhile, during the weekend a small army of volunteer fundraisers were busy raising money for the RNLI and collecting towards Rhyl's new £2.2 Million All Weather Shannon Class Lifeboat.

Paul Frost, Acting Coxswain, said 'The Rhyl Air Show weekend was extremely busy for the whole RNLI team at Rhyl. The volunteer crews, RNLI Lifeguards, Coastguards and all the other emergency services worked tirelessly all weekend to keep everyone safe. Our fundraisers made a fantastic effort collecting towards our new boat. I would like to thank all the extra people who came forward to collect during the weekend'.

Key facts about the RNLI

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen and Lough Ree. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.

The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 or by email.

The RNLI is a charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SC037736). Charity number 20003326 in the Republic of Ireland