Mumbles Lifeboat launches into Storm Dennis

The volunteer crew of the Mumbles All weather lifeboat were called by UK Coastguard at Milford Haven to assist in the search for a male thought to have entered the water near Swansea West Pier.

Just after 9.15 the crew of the Roy Barker IV joined Coastguard teams from Swansea, Gower and Port Talbot in the search.

With wind gusts in excess of 70 mph in middle of Storm Dennis the teams searched the area from Swansea’s West pier to the bottom of Brynmill Lane.

Following an extensive search all teams were stood down and the boat returned to station by 11pm.

The call was thought to be a false alarm with good intent.

Deputy Lifeboat Coxswain James Bolter said ‘This was a ferocious storm and one of the worst we’ve launched into in many years. I’m tremendously proud of the professionalism of the volunteer crew in such extreme weather. The storm raised a swell which made it impossible to rehouse the boat safely so we picked up our mooring and waited a few hours for the storm to pass.

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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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