Monday 31 May 2010

5 Shouts on Bank Holiday Monday

The volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat were called out to an incident on Monday 31 May, at 13.45pm and then responded to four successive incidents thereafter finally arriving back at the boathouse refuelled and ready for active service again at 18.05pm.

The first incident was an 8 metre broken down boat off Red Wharf Bay. Beaumaris Lifeboat took over the tow from Moelfre lifeboat taking the broken down boat to Menai Bridge.

While towing the boat to Menai Bridge, Beaumaris Lifeboat picked up a kayaker who was cold and wet at Puffin Sound and took him to Beaumaris before proceeding to Menai Bridge.

On the way through from Beaumaris to Menai Bridge, the volunteer crew passed a broken down boat between Gallows Point and Bangor Pier. Beaumaris Lifeboat dropped the first broken down boat off at Menai Bridge and then returned to pick up the second broken down boat and took it to Menai Bridge.

Beaumaris Lifeboat then received a request from Holyhead Coastguard to attend to another broken down boat in the Swellies. Beaumaris Lifeboat towed this boat to Port Dinorwic.

Beaumaris Lifeboat then returned to the lifeboat station and was being refuelled when it received a request from Holyhead Coastguard to attend an incident off Bangor Pier involving two teenagers in a dinghy. The crew picked up the teenagers and took them to Bangor Slipway.

The Beaumaris Lifeboat then returned to the lifeboat station. The boat was refuelled and ready for service at 18.05pm.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Two Shouts in One Day Follow a Busy Weekend

After their very busy weekend the volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat Station were again called out twice in one day.

The first call was at 15.00 to rescue two male kayakers stuck in the mud near Bangor Pier. Two of the four lifeboat crew were put ashore to help the kayakers carry their kayaks to Bangor Coastguard who were situated by the Old Boatyard at Bangor Pier. Beaumaris’ Lifeboat was back at the station, washed down, refuelled and ready for active service again at 16.45.

The lifeboat crew were again called out again at 21.05 in response to a May Day from a boat off Puffin Island. The 23ft boat with two males on board had a rope caught round its prop and on the lifeboat’s arrival at the scene was 10ft away from the rocks off the Island. The crew towed the boat to the Fairway Buoy and handed it over to Conwy Lifeboat. During the tow the rope was freed from around the prop so the 23ft boat was able to proceed under its own power but was escorted by Conwy Lifeboat back to Conwy Marina.

Monday 24 May 2010

Busy Weekend for Beaumaris Lifeboat

The volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat Station were called out three times over the weekend and then again on Monday.

The first incident was on Saturday 22 May at 13.54. The volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat were called out to assist a boat that had broken down on the Menai Strait and towed it to Menai Bridge.

The second incident was on Sunday 23 May at 12.16 when the volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat were tasked with searching for two persons that had reportedly jumped off Britannia Bridge. The crew conducted a search of the waters around Menai Bridge and were later stood down.

The third incident was on Sunday 23 May at 16.14. The volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat were called out to assist a 34ft boat at Felinheli that had a lobster pot caught round its prop. The crew escorted the boat to Port Dinorwic.

The crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat Station were again called out this afternoon at 15.00 to rescue two male walkers attempting to cross the Menai Strait from Llanfairfechan to Beaumaris. The Lifeboat picked the walkers up at the entrance to the Menai Strait and brought them back to Beaumaris Lifeboat Station.

Sunday 16 May 2010

Beaumaris Lifeboat Station called out twice

The volunteer crew of Beaumaris Lifeboat Station were called out twice yesterday, Saturday 15 May, the day the new lifeboat was officially named and handed over to the station in a service of dedication.

The first incident was at 17.07. A 24' power boat with 2 persons on board ran out of fuel off Bangor pier. The skipper contacted the Coastguard via mobile phone and the Beaumaris Lifeboat was requested. The lifeboat was launched and quickly located the casualty which was then towed back to Menai Bridge.

The second incident was at 20.30. A yacht sent out a May Day after running aground on a sandbank near Abermenai. The yacht floated off the sandbank shortly after Beaumaris Lifeboat arrived at the scene and was escorted to Victoria Dock in Caernarfon.

Related News: Anglesey RNLI lifeboat called twice after dedication

Beaumaris’ New RNLI Lifeboat Officially Named

A ceremony to dedicate the town’s new RNLI lifeboat was held at the Boathouse on Saturday 15 May 2010. At a cost of £160,000, the arrival of the new Atlantic 85 lifeboat was down to the legacy of the late Mr John Grover Liddington who wanted the boat named in memory of his mother, Annette Mary Liddington, as well as the fundraising efforts undertaken by the lifeboat station’s crew and its associated five RNLI Guilds. It was named by Mrs Christine Winfield, cousin of Mr John Grover Liddington, during a ceremony attended by Ysgol Gynradd Beaumaris and the Beaumaris Silver Band and concluded with the boat launching with a flypast by a Search and Rescue (SAR) Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley

The new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat is the most advanced inshore lifeboat ever produced by the RNLI. Able to reach casualties faster than the previous Blue Peter boat it can reach speeds of up to 35 knots and features state-of-the-art technology to enhance its lifesaving capabilities. It has already been put to good use having launched 17 times since arriving on station on 15 January 2010.

Derek Lumb, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Beaumaris, who accepted the lifeboat on behalf of Beaumaris RNLI lifeboat station says;

“The 8.3 metre long Atlantic 85 is fitted with a radar system, radio direction finding equipment and a sophisticated chart plotter to aid search and rescue operations, particularly in low visibility conditions. It also has the capacity to carry more casualties than its predecessor.

“As the busiest inshore RNLI lifeboat station in Wales during the summer of 2009, this greatly enhances our capability at the station and enables us to provide a faster service along the Menai Strait.

‘The RNLI is a charity which relies on voluntary contributions and legacies and we are very grateful to the late Mr Liddington as well as to the many individuals, businesses and organisations for supporting the RNLI.”

Mr Liddington also funded a second B Class lifeboat for Bundoran Lifeboat station which will be named William Henry Liddington in memory of this father.