Speedboat with five people on board, assisted by Rhyl RNLI volunteers

The skipper radioed the UK coastguard and spoke to the duty watch at Holyhead, who requested the All-weather lifeboat from Rhyl be launched, due to the number of people on board the craft. The lifeboat was alerted at 9.00 am on Sunday July 14th, and was under way about 15 minutes later. The vessel was located both visually and with direction-finding equipment, which homed on to the VHF radio the skipper was carrying. The lifeboat was alongside about 10 minutes later, and a crew member was transferred to the casualty vessel.
By attaching himself to the boat's rails, the crew member was able to lean over the stern of the vessel, and was able to free the propeller by hand.
Once the casualty boat was free, the skipper was able to re-start his engine, and motor back to Rhyl harbour, escorted by the lifeboat, and the boat was recovered by Rhyl harbour master into the harbour compound.
Coxswain Martin Jones said ' This was a relatively straightforward service, and we were able to free the vessel quite quickly. All the casualty crew were very well equipped with lifejackets and means of calling for assistance'.
The lifeboat returned to station at 11.15am.
The attached photos, credit RNLI/Rhyl, show the vessel and the RNLI volunteer crew freeing the boat's propeller, and also the track of the lifeboat, courtesy of the Sailboat book App.

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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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