Barry Dock RNLI lifeboat launched after car is overcome by rising tide
Barry Dock RNLI lifeboat was paged at 4.43pm on Thursday (25 May) to the unusual report of a car in the water at the Old Harbour in Barry, just a short distance from Barry Dock Lifeboat Station.
The Barry Dock RNLI volunteers launched both their Trent class all-weather lifeboat the Inner Wheel II, as well as their boarding boat, a fully equipped D class inshore lifeboat which can also be used as an extra asset for some rescues, and quickly made their way around to the Old Harbour. Once they arrived on scene, they found a car that had been used to launch a small motor boat from the slipway, and had been left at the bottom of the slip whilst its owners were out on their pleasure boat
Unfortunately for the owners, they were not familiar with the area that they had launched from and had not realised that with the Bristol Channel's large tidal range, much of the slipway would be soon underwater. Their car had subsequently been left partially submerged.
The Barry Dock RNLI volunteers stood by for a while to assess the situation and after seeing that no one was in any danger, they returned to station shortly after.
Speaking after the shout, volunteer coxswain Marc Gibbons warned of the dangers of tides. He said: 'The Bristol Channel has some of the highest tidal ranges in the world, and they can even catch out experienced seamen. It's really important that when you're planning a trip, you should check what time the tides are, how big they are and also to check charts for the area so that you know which areas will dry out and which ones will be left underwater'.
Media contacts:
For more information please contact Ben Phillips, Barry Dock RNLI, on 07712 816756 or Chris Cousens, RNLI Press Officer, Wales and West, on 07748 265496 or 01745 585162 or by email on [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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