Rhyl RNLI lifeboats have a busy afternoon

The first call on Tuesday at 12.15pm,was for the inshore lifeboat to two inflatables which were being blown out to sea from the Kinmel Bay-side of the river Clwyd. On arriving on scene the inflatables were found to be empty, and so the helm of the lifeboat tracked back against the wind. Coastguards on shore also arrived, and the owners of the inflatables were found and confirmed no persons were on board the inflatables. The inshore lifeboat returned to station at 12.30pm.
The second call for the inshore lifeboat was made by Holyhead coastguard at 12.51pm, about a person on an inflatable craft off Talacre drifting out to sea. The person was located by a passing windfarm vessel and taken on board. The inshore lifeboat then escorted the windfarm boat as they made their way to Mostyn docks where the casualty was met by local coastguards from Flint. The inshore lifeboat returned to station by 2pm. The All-weather lifeboat was on standby from 1pm to 1.15pm, to assist in this incident but was stood down as the windfarm vessel had coped.
The next callout was for the all-weather lifeboat at 2.30pm was to search for a kayak with one adult and two children on board, being swept out to sea again off Talacre. West Kirby inshore lifeboat crew was also paged and launched. The lifeboats were nearly at Talacre when the local coastguard mobile on site, reported that the dinghy and occupants had managed to get ashore back at Talacre at 2.53pm, and so the lifeboats were stood down. The lifeboat returned to Rhyl at 4pm.
Andrew Wilde, duty coxswain at Rhyl said ' Whilst these incidents highlighted the fact that small inflatables can easily be taken out to sea in minutes, we are glad these incidents had a successful outcome.
We advise that if people find themselves in difficulty, to dial 999 and ask for the coastguard. Inflatables are not toys and are not really suited to the sea'.

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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 142,700 lives.

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