At 3:19pm on 8 May MRSC Holyhead paged the LOM at Criccieth Lifeboat Station and requested an immediate launch to a jet ski with two children aboard which was drifting out to sea off the main entrance to Black Rock Beach, Porthmadog.
Pagers were immediately activated and at 3:26pm the Atlantic 85 lifeboat dorus Joan proceeded to the scene. After a very short search the jetski was found drifting out to sea in the strong offshore breeze with two young boys aboard, aged 12 and 9. They had been minding the jetski whilst their father had gone to park their trailer but had sat on the jetski in shallow water and the wind had taken them offshore. They were over 400 yards offshore when the lifeboat found them.
They were both taken aboard the lifeboat, and as the youngest one was so scared, it was decided to land them from danger immediately. The lifeboat brought them ashore at 3.40pm and left them in the care of an RNLI crew member and the local coastguard team. Their father, who had the ignition key to the jetski, was then taken aboard the lifeboat and taken out to the jetski. He was transferred to it and the lifeboat escorted him and his craft ashore. The volunteer crew member who was ashore was then re-embarked and the lifeboat left the scene for station at 3.48pm. She arrived back at Criccieth at 3.51pm and was immediately recovered, refuelled and made ready for service. It later transpired that it was the local beach patrol officer who had seen the boys drifting out to sea and he had contacted the coastguard.
