Abersoch RNLI tasked to search for missing boat.
The volunteer crew were paged by HM Coastguard at 9.31pm on Thursday 7 September following reports of a missing powerboat at St Tudwal’s islands.
The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat was launched at 9.42pm and arrived at the islands at 9.52pm.
The first informants were on a yacht at anchor off Llanbedrog headland. They had reported hearing a powerboat out at sea and seeing navigation lights. The night was clear and calm.
The boat appeared to have been making its way across the south side of the islands towards Carreg y Trai when the engine noise suddenly stopped and the navigation lights could no longer be seen. The first informants feared that the boat had hit the island or the Carreg y Trai rocks. They then made the call to the Coastguard.
The lifeboat made a thorough search of the area around both islands and the rocks and a para flare was deployed. They went to the first informants yacht and spoke to the people on board before returning to the area to carry out a further search. Nothing was found.
The lifeboat returned to the station at 11.34pm where it was washed down, refuelled and left ready for service.
Phill Wood, Abersoch RNLI volunteer helm, said ‘The call to the Coastguard was made with good intent and absolutely the right thing to do’. He added, ‘If you get into difficulty, or think someone else could be in trouble, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard’.
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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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