On Sunday, 15 August 2010, just as the volunteers at the RNLI’s station at Burry Port were recovering the lifeboats after their Sunday morning exercise they were tasked to a broken down RIB one and a half miles north of Burry Holmes.
The RIB with two persons, from Llanelli, had left Burry Port earlier in the morning but the crew was unable to start the engine when it was time to return. When they failed to return to Burry Port the a family member who was waiting for them informed the Lifeboat Operations Manager, LOM, Mr Spencer Davies, who, at 11:20am, immediately re-launched the station’s Atlantic 75 Blue Peter II.
The Atlantic 75 located the RIB and attached a tow rope and brought the RIB and its two crewmembers back to Burry Port. This was the first tow for the station’s Atlantic and we are sure that it will be the first of many.
The Atlantic 75 was crewed by Owain Davies, Lee Howells and Julian Aston.
At 8:20pm the Station’s D-class lifeboat, TheYoung Watsons, was launched to tow a boat berthed at the marina. The boat with its owner from Tintern, Monmouthshire had left Burry Port for a day’s fishing on Sunday morning and had spent the day in Carmarthen Bay.
When it was time to return to its berth the owner was unable to start the boat’s engine but fortunately there was a local charter boat close by that was able to give assistance. Panther skippered by Mr Peter Nicholas took the boat in tow back towards Burry Port. Mr Nicholas contacted the station’s LOM who launched the D-class lifeboat to take over the tow in order to return the towed boat to its berth.
The lifeboat was crewed by Gary Morgan, Julian Aston and Nick Jones who was out on his first shout.
