Beaumaris Lifeboat tasked to windsurfer believed to be in difficulties
At 1.32 pm on Easter Monday 10 April 2023 the volunteer crew members of the Beaumaris lifeboat received a page from U.K. Coastguard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Holyhead to investigate a report of a windsurfer in difficulties in the Menai Strait.
The Beaumaris Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Annette Mary Liddington with her volunteer crew launched at 1.41 pm and proceeded to the last reported position of the windsurfer.
It had been reported that he had fallen off the board a number of times and was now sitting on a rock in the Menai Straits opposite Glyn Garth. Once the lifeboat arrived and spoke too the windsurfer it transpired the sail on the craft had split making control of the board very difficult.
He was happy to make his own way ashore, escorted by the lifeboat , a volunteer crew member from the lifeboat went ashore to assist him in recovering the board once ashore.
Having checked that all was well with him and following the arrival of the Penmon Mobile Coastguard rescue team the lifeboat recovered her crew member and was released by the coastguard to return to Beaumaris, arriving at 2.10 pm to be refuelled and cleaned. Once this had been completed the crew left the station at 2.41 pm.
A RNLI spokesman said, ‘the windsurfer was correctly kitted out with a wet suit and an orange lifejacket. The general public who made the calls to the Coastguard are to be commended as we would rather launch to a possible incident, than for it to develop into something more serious’.
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