Trearddur Bay RNLI open day sees record attendance and a shout.

Lifeboat operations manager Paul Moffett said, ‘It was a fantastic day, probably our best open day yet, a huge thank you goes to all of the crew and their families that helped pull this great day together and particular thanks to Bill Rowlands who headed up the organisation of the day’, Deputy Launch Authority David Williams added, ‘it was a superb effort by all, the whole day passed without a hitch’. In addition to the 25 stalls, also in attendance were representatives from North Wales police, the Fire brigade, Coast watch and Wales wildlife trust. Catherine Tudor Jones, the charities Community Manager for North Wales, who was at the event collecting donations, remarked that ‘51 people had signed up for a regular donation to the RNLI during the course of the day which was one of the highest event results so far in 2023.'

It was a busy day for the crew who also found themselves being tasked by the Coastguard shortly after returning ashore from their afternoon display. At 13:35 both boats were launched to assist two male casualties that had been reported to be hanging onto a cliff face at the entrance to Porth Dafarch beach a couple of miles north of Trearddur Bay. A man was airlifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd by HM Coastguard for further examination. On arrival at the scene, the volunteer crew found that one of the men had managed to climb up the cliff to safety however they were concerned for the wellbeing of the second man who was close to the waterline in what they described as testing conditions with a good swell that threatened to sweep him off the rocks. Due to the urgency of the situation and inaccessibility at the scene, helmsmen Lee Duncan and Dafydd Griffiths made the joint decision to call the coastguard helicopter to assist with airlifting the man from the rocks. Dafydd said, ‘We had a look at veering down to pick up the casualty, however, the conditions and location were just not right’. Lee added, ‘We decided the quickest and safest way to get him to safety was by helicopter whilst we stood by as safety cover’.

Following the incident, the open-day events continued with the public being treated to music from 6 local bands, headlined by Holy Coves who played a set from their latest album, Druids and Bards. Local artist and music promoter at Saint Ffraids music sessions, John Reynolds said, ‘It was fantastic to be a part of the celebrations today, a great cause and a great day, not one of the musicians today gave it a second thought when I asked if they were available,’ he continued, ‘It is amazing what these guys do as volunteers, they are all local lads and as local musicians we want to be here to celebrate our community.’