On Saturday night at 9:20 pm 1 October 2011 the volunteers at the RNLI’s station at Burry Port received a request from Swansea coastguard to launch to search for a missing surfer.
The surfer and her partner who are both Italian were on holiday and staying in Broughton Caravan Park, Gower. The surfer had last been seen at 6 pm. Her partner had walked back to the King’s Head public house Llangennith to raise the alarm. Due to the language problems and being unfamiliar with the area there was some confusion about the beach on which they had been surfing from.
The station’s D class lifeboat The Young Watsons and Atlantic 75 Blue Peter II launched and proceeded towards Broughton Beach north Gower and were instructed to search from Whitford Lighthouse westward towards Burry Holms. After a search lasting 20 minutes further information indicated that the female surfer had been off Llangennith, Rhossili Bay.
Swansea coastguard instructed both lifeboats and South Wales Police helicopter to do a shoreline search along Rhossili Bay from Burry Holms towards Worms Head. From the air the helicopter crew using night vision equipment were able to see many people spread out over four miles of the beach one of whom was carrying a surf board.
Police and coastguard units on the beach made contact with the missing surfer at 10:25 and the search was called off.
The Atlantic 75 was crewed by Owain Davies, Phillip Morgan and Nick Jones and the D class lifeboat by Lee Howells, Dave Taylor and Darren Caines.
