On Sunday 24 July 2011 at 11:30 pm the volunteers at the RNLI’s station at Burry Port launched to the assistance of a fishing boat drifting on to the beach at Rhossili Bay.
The boat with two men from the Bristol area on board had left Ferryside, Carmarthenshire earlier in the day for a day’s fishing in Carmarthen Bay. During the afternoon their outboard engine failed and the prop of their auxiliary engine was damaged when they struck something floating below the surface.
The boat drifted on to the beach at Rhossili where one of the men went to fetch a third outboard motor but when it was fitted to the boat it was too short. Swansea coastguard was alerted that they were on the beach and requested the launch of Burry Port’s Atlantic 75. The lifeboat was on scene at approximately 11:50pm and after a short search located the boat. All communications had to be relayed through Swansea Coastguard as the men on board did not have a VHF radio only a mobile phone.
The lifeboat towed the boat, now with one man and a dog on board, back to the buoy outside the marina as the lifeboat was unable to enter the marina. The casualty was back at Burry Port at 1:15am on Monday 25 July 2011.
The lifeboat was crewed by Lee Howells, Darren Caines and Nick Jones.
