Rescues

Dinghy capsizes in Beaumaris Bay 

The Blue Peter lifeboat had been out on a previous job, the crew had just finished washing down and re-fueling. Some of the crew were up on the balcony and noticed a dinghy over on the other side of the channel with 3 young people on board. They had been watching them for some time as they were drifting with the tide. At one point they lost the paddles and a fishing rod but managed to recover them.

Unfortunately the teenagers inflatable dinghy then capsized and they all fell into the water. A lifeboat crew member immediately alerted Holyhead Coastguard, who requested that the lifeboats should be launched.

The lifeboat recovered the three casualties and the dinghy and returned them to the slipway next to the lifeboat station. The inflatable they had been using was unsuitable for tidal waters and should only have been used on paddling pools. The teenagers were also without any lifejackets or other safety gear which made this activity in the sea very dangerous.

Dinghy nearly sinks

The Holyhead Coastguard requested that the Beaumaris lifeboat was launched in response to a 999 call from a person living above Penmaenmawr. He reported seeing a small orange inflatable dinghy with two persons aboard being blown out to sea in near gale force conditions.

The persons aboard this dinghy told the lifeboat crew that they intended to go to Puffin Island. However they had no engine only oars, no lifejackets or any safety equipment at all. When these two individuals were put aboard the lifeboat their dinghy was half full of water. The lifeboat returned them with their dinghy to Penmaenmawr slipway. If they hadn't been spotted and rescued by the lifeboat, the situation could have been a lot worse.

Fog rescue 

In April 2003, a fisherman got lost in dense fog on Lavan sands, an area only accessible at low tide. The fog came down quickly and reduced his visibility to little more than four feet. As he got more and more lost, the tide began to come in rapidly, so that soon he was in chest deep waters.

Luckily he had his mobile phone with him and so he called the Coastguard. The Beaumaris lifeboat was launched and they fired some flares to help them see where the fisherman was and to show him where the lifeboat was. However, the fog was so dense that these were of little help. After 45 minutes the lifeboat crew and coastguard helicopter managed to pin point his location only from his shouts. He was winched to safety by helicopter and flown to hospital and  made a full recovery.

Beaumaris lifeboat launches to a capsized boat…

At 8.28pm on Tuesday, July 1st Holyhead Coastguard requested the launch of the Beaumaris Lifeboat and to proceed down to the Mussel Bank buoy off Abermenai after they had received a 999 call reporting a capsized boat with persons in the water.

The boat was part of a group of three boats, who were close by and who were able pick all persons out of the water before the lifeboat arrived. Whilst the lifeboat was on its way it was reported that one of the party that had been in the water had suffered a knock to the head and was going in and out of consciousness. The injured person was landed on the shore at Abermenai Point where lifeboat crew were put ashore to treat the patient and assisted by Llandwrog Coastguard team before the arrival of Rescue Helicopter 122 from RAF Valley. The helicopters winchman treated the patient further before airlifting him to Ysbyty Gwynedd.

The rest of the party had stated to make their way back to their launch site. Once everybody was safe ashore and no further assistance required, the lifeboat stared a search down towards Caernarfon Bar for the capsized boat. Due to the fading light, the search did not last long and was terminated. The lifeboat then returned to station after being out on service for almost three hours.

RNLI in charter boat rescue

Whilst out on a routine exercise on the evening of Monday 7th July 2008, Beaumaris Lifeboat were advised by Holyhead Coastguard of a Charter Boat suffering from gearbox trouble off Caernarfon Bar.

It was decided that Beaumaris lifeboat would offer assistance to the charter boat, which was on passage from Milford Haven to Liverpool. The lifeboat met the vessel and transferred a crewmember to assist the skipper, who had managed to make a temporary repair to the gearbox. After getting the boat to work for ten minutes or so the problem re-occurred, it was then decided that the vessel would have to be towed.

The lifeboat was towed to Port Dinorwic and placed on a mooring for repairs to be made the following day. The lifeboat then returned to station after being afloat for almost four hours!!