Llandudno lifeboats respond to red flares

17/09/2019

Both Llandudno lifeboats responded to red flare warnings and rescued a person in a disabled speedboat in Wales.

Holyhead Coastguard alerted the RNLI one evening in September 2019 after numerous 999 calls from members of public.
They saw distress flares fired from a small speedboat around a quarter of a mile north east of Rhos on Sea breakwater.
The speedboat had lost power, the sole occupant’s lifejacket had been lost overboard and the radio battery was flat.
In fresh and choppy sea conditions Llandudno’s inshore lifeboat Dr Barbara Saunderson was launched within minutes of the alarm being raised. It arrived at the scene just over 10 minutes later where the speedboat had managed to anchor.

Llandudno’s all-weather lifeboat William F Yates, already on standby, was also launched to support the rescue.
The occupant and the vessel were brought ashore and handed over to the Coastguard Rescue Team at the Rhos on Sea slipway.
Llandudno’s Duty Launching Authority says, “This was a short service to a person on a small craft in a vulnerable situation which demonstrated great teamwork by lifeboat crew and shore crew all of whom train very hard for such situations.”
The image is courtesy of RNLI/Jonathan Coe