Busy bank holiday weekend for Horton and Port Eynon RNLI lifeboat volunteers
Busy bank holiday weekend for Horton and Port Eynon RNLI lifeboat volunteers
Lifeboats News Release
Shortly before 11pm on Saturday 26 August the Horton and Port Eynon lifeboat was launched after a report was received of a red flare having been set off in Port Eynon Bay signalling a boat was in difficulty.
RNLI/
Busy bank holiday weekend for Horton and Port Eynon RNLI lifeboat volunteers
An extensive search was made of the bay by the volunteer lifeboat crew. The Oxwich Coastguard were assisting, speaking to people on the beach to ascertain what had happened. It was then discovered that the flare had been set off from the shore and the RNLI crew and Coastguard were satisfied that it was a false alarm and no boat was in difficulty in the bay.
On Sunday 27 August the lifeboat was on a training exercise when Milford Haven Coastguard enquired if any vessel in the area could tow a yacht from Oxwich to Swansea, and asked the lifeboat crew to check on the welfare of the people on board the yacht. The crew of the lifeboat went alongside the 10 metre yacht and discovered that a rope was tangled around its propeller. Efforts to disentangle the rope were unsuccessful. The crew were satisfied that the boat was safely anchored.
Within moments the lifeboat crew were then asked to go to Worms Head, after a report was received of two people wading from Worms Head back to shore. Local beauty spot Worms Head is cut off from the mainland by high tide. Whilst en-route to Worms Head, information was received that the 2 had made it back to shore.
The volunteer crew of the Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat involved were Will Metcalfe, Tom Grove, Louise Sullivan, Rachel Hurford,and Meg Woodhouse.
Lawrie Grove Operations Manager at Horton and Port Eynon lifeboat station said: ‘Flares are used at sea to signal that a boat is in difficulty. If you see a flare then dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard to report it.
‘The causeway at Rhossili to Worms Head is usually open 2.5 hours either side of low tide. The times it is open are displayed near to the causeways. I would stress that if you are cut off by the tide you should not attempt to swim or wade ashore. Trying to swim or wade to shore when cut off by the tide is extremely dangerous.’
RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Brin Hurford, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07968 269 550 or [email protected]. Alternatively contact Eleri Roberts, RNLI Regional Media Officer on 07771 941390 or email [email protected].
Key facts about the RNLI
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.
