Byline: At 11.15am on Sunday the 8th of December, 2013 volunteer crew members from Criccieth’s RNLI lifeboat station were tasked to rescue a walker cut-off by a rising tide, minutes after returning to station from an exercise.
Page Content:
The assembled
crew were able to launch seconds after their pagers sounded, with the station’s
Atlantic 85 class lifeboat, Doris Joan,
launching from Criccieth just after being washed and refueled following the
crew’s monthly Sunday morning exercise.
En-route, HM Coastguard informed the crew that the walker was knee-deep
in rising seawater on the seaward side of the Porthmadog Cob, near the steam
railway’s Boston Lodge buildings. He was
unable to return ashore as deep, fast flowing tidal channels had formed whilst
he was walking further out on the mudflats.
A member of the public had spotted him signaling for help.
Given the
location’s varying depth, the crew also scrambled their smaller inshore rescue
boat, Margaret a Nantw, to assist with
the rescue – it was launched from Porthmadog harbour after being towed there by
road.
On-scene, the
Atlantic 85’s crew had spotted the walker with two of its crew disembarking and wadding towards him – the lifeboat was unable to get
closer because of shallower water. As
they approached the casualty, who was wet and cold, the inshore recuse boat
arrived. The casualty was placed in the smaller
lifeboat before being transferred to the Atlantic 85 and taken to Porthmadog
harbour.
Following the
incident, Criccieth’s Senior Helmsman, Paul Filby, stated “The gentleman was
lucky that the crew were already on station and able to launch quickly; given
his location and the depth of channels around him, it could have been a more serious
outcome. The area around the Cob is
understandably popular with walkers, but I’d like to remind people to always
check local tide times and make sure they’re able to get back ashore safely.”
ENDS
For further
information, please contact Ifer Gwyn, Lifeboat Press Officer on 07554445316 or
ifergwyn@hotmail.com
Byline: At 11.15am on Sunday the 8th of December, 2013 volunteer crew members from Criccieth’s RNLI lifeboat station were tasked to rescue a walker cut-off by a rising tide, minutes after returning to station from an exercise.
Page Content:
The assembled
crew were able to launch seconds after their pagers sounded, with the station’s
Atlantic 85 class lifeboat,
Doris Joan,
launching from Criccieth just after being washed and refueled following the
crew’s monthly Sunday morning exercise.
En-route, HM Coastguard informed the crew that the walker was knee-deep
in rising seawater on the seaward side of the Porthmadog Cob, near the steam
railway’s Boston Lodge buildings. He was
unable to return ashore as deep, fast flowing tidal channels had formed whilst
he was walking further out on the mudflats.
A member of the public had spotted him signaling for help.
Given the
location’s varying depth, the crew also scrambled their smaller inshore rescue
boat, Margaret a Nantw, to assist with
the rescue - it was launched from Porthmadog harbour after being towed there by
road.
On-scene, the
Atlantic 85’s crew had spotted the walker with two of its crew disembarking and wadding towards him - the lifeboat was unable to get
closer because of shallower water. As
they approached the casualty, who was wet and cold, the inshore recuse boat
arrived. The casualty was placed in the smaller
lifeboat before being transferred to the Atlantic 85 and taken to Porthmadog
harbour.
Following the
incident, Criccieth’s Senior Helmsman, Paul Filby, stated “The gentleman was
lucky that the crew were already on station and able to launch quickly; given
his location and the depth of channels around him, it could have been a more serious
outcome. The area around the Cob is
understandably popular with walkers, but I’d like to remind people to always
check local tide times and make sure they’re able to get back ashore safely.”
ENDS
For further
information, please contact Ifer Gwyn, Lifeboat Press Officer on 07554445316 or
ifergwyn@hotmail.com