Atlantic 75 - B758 'Sandwell Lifeline'

The crew were paged at 1235 to a windsurfer disappearing towards the bar. A quick launch was required as coditions were very poor, with force 6 winds, a strongly ebbing tide and 4 metre waves. The man was spotted near the south spit buoy, however the boat had to detour inshore slightly to reach him, to avoid the worst of the breaking waves. The man was recovered quickly, however it was considered too dangerous to recover his equipment.

the full press release can be seen by following the link below;

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/press_centre/videos/video_detail?articleid=448508

The video footage can be seen by clicking on the image opposite. The complete rescue can be seen on the video page of the website.

A jetski with no-one on board was spotted at 1500. As darkness was fast approaching, and no-one had reported a vessel missing or lost, the boat was launched and conducted a thorough search in case there was a casualty in the water. Fortunately eventually the owner appeared to claim it, having lost it off Borth earlier in the day, so the search could be called off.

A jetski rider hit the leri sandbank at approximately 40 knots, sustaining serious chest and facial injuries. the crew were first on scene, stabilised the casualty and prepared him for airlift by RAF rescue 122

A GP sailing dinghy was abandoned in a sailing race in worsening conditions. The dinghy was located a mile north of the bar, however conditions were so bad (especially for august!) that the dinghy was tied to a mooring, and we were unable to recover it for a further two days.

In worsening conditions and dropping winds, the dinghies were carried over the bar by the spring tide. fortunately all participants were rescued before the dinghies reached the surf, and the dinghies were later recovered.

The police request a search after a suspicious package which is though to be another package of illegal drugs is spotted off Tonfanau. After a thorough search by the crew, an item is found which matches the description, and happens to be a 6ft inflatable dolphin....

The crew administered oxygen and assisted coastguards with her evacuation to hospital.

All were recovered safe and well after getting caught in a common rip tide.

A windsurfer in difficulty was spotted up the river, struggling against the wind. he was recovered and brought ashore. Only minutes later his partner took to the water on the same board, and within minutes she too was in difficulty, heading towards the 2 metre surf on the bar at a great rate, so the boat was launched again, just after being put back in the station.

An hour later a catamaran capszed in the same place, and as the boat was out on exercise with new crew, they were able to offer assistance. A busy day for 'Sandwell Lifeline'!

2 skinny dippers got into dificulty when their canoe capsized at 4am in the moorings. They managed to climb aboard a yacht, and then decided to swim for the shore, just before the boat arrived, safe and well, however they are well known in the village and have been trying to live down the experience all week!

The boat is requested to make an immediate launch to a mayday call by Milford Haven Coastguard, to assist local fishing boat 'Persevere' which is sinking with 5 persons on board. The boat has taken on water through a large hole which appeared in the hull, and she was being washed into building surf on the south bank. All 5 persons were rescued and returned to Aberdovey safe and well.

Attempts were made to recover the 9 tonnne vessel, however this was not possible due to grounding and the weight of the boat. The crew made every effort to recover any loose items including diesel fuel cans to prevent any environmental impact, then marked the boat with anchors and buoys to prevent it becoming a hazard to other vessels in the area.

The boat is called to assist the coastguard with a woman who has slipped on rocks at Tonfanau, with injuries that include a suspected broken wrist and knee.

To raise the stretcher up the loose cliffs between the beach and the road would have proved tricky, therefore the casualty was transfered to the lifeboat and brought back to a waiting ambulance in Aberdovey.

A busy day for the boat with strong easterly winds. A windsurfer is recovered after struggling with gale force winds and exhaustion.

Later on, a powerboat is high and dry on a sandbank, after launching with little knowledge of the local sea conditions or the tide. The crew rescue the persons from the boat, then return later in the evening to refloat the boat on the rising tide

A jet boat with two persons on board is stranded by the falling tide near Ynyslas. At 700kgs, the boat is too heavy for the crew to push clear of the sand. Borth ILB arrive to assist, and with the help of a few of Borth Coastguard (who after reluctance, kindly got their feet wet....!*?) the boat was pushed clear into the Leri Channel and refloated

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The boat is launched at 2000hrs after what seemed to be a body was reported in the estuary by several onlookers. With assistance from Borth ILB and the police and local coastguard a thorough search was carried out, but nothing was found.

A fishing boat breaks it's mooring at 1800 and begins to drift up river. A decision is made to launch the boat as crew from another fishing boat were attempting recovery, and the conditions were very bad with an easterly Force 10 winds making the operation very difficult. The vessel was escorted back to Aberdovey.

The boat is launched to search off Llwyngwril after reports of an upturned dinghy. The crew searched for 2 hours in freezing temperatures along with Barmouth ALB, but nothing was found.

The boat was returning from the rescue of a kitesurfer when it was urgently retasked to deal with a collision between a speedboat and a jetski in the estuary. The man on the jetski was injured in the water, so crew member ed davies entered the water to assess the casualty and stabilise him. The casualty was carefully loaded onto the stretcher, and then transfered to the boat. Realising the seriousness of his injuries Helmsman Phil Bresnen had already requested that the coastguard request the air ambulance, which he knew would transfer him to hospital far more rapidly. The basket stretcher used on the boat was too long for the air ambulance and rather than risk transfering the casualty to a smaller spine board, a decision was made to use RAF Rescue 122, which caused quite a stir when it landed on the beach packed with holidaymakers!

The casualty has since made a full recovery

The full story can be read in the Spring 2008 issue of 'The Lifeboat'

The crew are paged at 0350 in the morning after a woman was reported as seen walking into the sea at Borth. The boat was soon on the scene and liased with Borth ILB who had already been searching for an hour. Aberdovey lifeboat carried out a parallel track search at 100 metre intervals from Aberdovey outer buoy to Borth cliffs, searching carefully and using white parachute flares for illumination. At 0500 RAF rescue flight 122 arrived from RAF Valley to search from above, using a greater height of eye, and also their thermal image camera. By 0530 there was still no sign of the woman who had been in the sea for up to 5 hours , and hope was fading. Then as 'Sandwell Lifeline' made a track to the north, Crew members Phil Bresnen and Fiona Whitehead spotted a movement in the water. The boat diverted to investigate and found the woman, drifting in and out of consciousness, approximately 1 mile off-shore. Helmsman Robin Goodlad immediately notified the coastguard and Rescue 122 was in scene immediately. Crew members Phil Bresnen, Fiona and Ian Jewell mamaged to stabilise the casualties condition whilst the winchman was lowered on board, and the casualty was then winched aboard the helicopter for transfer to hosiptal in Aberystwyth. the boat then returned to station, just in time for breakfast and a full day's work for most crew!

The pagers sound at 0255 in the morning, with reports of an injured crew member on a tug by the outer buoy. The conditions were pitch black with a 1-2 metre swell running so care was taken to navigate to the outer buoy, where the tug was found. Timing was important to get a crew member on board with first aid and oxygen, which proved difficult with the roll of the two boats. The casualty had de-gloved a finger between the tug and the barge it was towing, and needed evacuating. A decision was made that Borth would be the closet and safest place to land, where the ambulance was waiting on arrival.

Reports came in to the station of a yacht which had capsized on Aberdovey bar. As the crew assembled the yacht could be seen on its side in the distance, therefore the boat launched immediately as it was not known if any persons were trapped on board. The boat was soon on scene to find the yacht, called 'Idno' on its side. She had come over the bar too far north and out of the marked channel, and hit a sandbank, which had removed her heavy keel, therefore there was nothing to keep her upright. The priority was to get the three casualties off the boat, as at this point her mast was on the bottom, but she was drifting into deeper water, and could have fully capsized with the crew still inside. Once they were landed ashore, attempts were made to recover the yacht which was a hazard to other water users. Righting it was not an option, so an ingenious bridle was rigged to evenly tow the boat sideways, all the way into church bay harbour. The yacht was eventually righted several weeks later and limped back to Aberystwyth, and has not been seen since!