
Trearddur Bay launch both boats on service at 3am on Tuesday morning.
The RNLI volunteer crew were paged at 2:44am by Holyhead Coastguard following reports of an overdue Orkney fishing boat with two men onboard.
The men had reported engine issues on Monday evening and had contacted a friend by mobile phone to say that they were at anchor near Aberffraw.
Contact was lost at around half past ten on Monday evening and following a shoreline search by a coastguard team from Holyhead the crew from Trearddur bay were tasked to conduct a search in the area.
The stations Atlantic 85, Hereford Endeavor, conducted a search in the Aberffraw and Malltraeth estuaries whilst the Charities D Class boat, the Clive and Imelda Rawlins, searched the bays and inlets in the vicinity.
The casualty vessel was located at a small beach, Traeth Llydan, south of Aberffraw and both men were found asleep and well on shore. Having decided to anchor the boat by the beach and with no phone signal, they had planned to contact someone for assistance the next morning at 9am and were unaware that anyone had been looking for them.
The Hereford Endevour took the two men on board after being transferred by the D Class and then proceeded to tow the vessel back to Rhoscolyn beach, arriving back at the station at 5:30am.
Helmsman Delme Mullings said, ‘The men were fine and had sleeping bags, they had not wished to cause a fuss late at night however I advised them that it is always a good idea to make a friend or the Coastguard aware of their intentions.’ Paul Moffatt, the stations operating manager remarked that, ‘it was a good outcome and a great turnout, efficiently carried out by the shore crew and the crew of both boats.’
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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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