Tenby’s RNLI crew were tasked with an early hours call out after those on board a vessel out to sea, signalled a mayday call.

Both of Tenby’s lifeboats were requested to launch shortly after 1am on Wednesday, August 7, following a Mayday from the crew of an 8m sailing catamaran, stating they were taking on water off Lydstep.

The lifeboat volunteer crews were quickly on the water and made best speed to Lydstep, four miles west of Tenby.

On arrival, the casualty vessel was almost aground and being hit by a small swell on the outgoing tide.

Crew members from the inshore lifeboat went ashore to assess the state of the vessel and its occupants and soon requested additional assistance, so the Y-boat was launched with two crew members aboard from the Haydn Miller.

They were soon joined by members of HM Coastguard Tenby.

The vessel had been holed whilst going aground and the skipper was in the process of repairing the damage. The lifeboat crews checked the vessel was still seaworthy and re-set the anchor, whilst waiting for the vessel to refloat.

Once there was sufficient water under the hull, the lifeboat crew checked that the emergency repairs on the catamaran’s hull were holding and that there was no more water ingress.

Once happy, two crew members remained aboard the vessel with its skipper and made their way around to Tenby under their own steam, whilst escorted by both lifeboats. The vessel's other occupant was taken back to Tenby by the Coastguard rescue team.

Tenby RNLI early shout
The lifeboat volunteer crews were quickly on the water and made best speed to Lydstep, four miles west of Tenby. (Tenby RNLI)

On arrival at Tenby, the casualty vessel was moored on an outer mooring, with a plan by the skipper to make his way into the harbour once the tide allowed.

The lifeboats then returned to station, arriving at 5.45am.

In such testing conditions, it ensured that recent training conducted by members of the Tenby Coastguard team had been beneficial, as they took to South Beach recently for an exercise.

“The training exercise was for the team to practice an emergency rescue involving off-roading, so what better place to do it than in the sand!” said a Coastguard spokesperson.

“The team faced pressure with the forever-changing weather that Tenby seems to be faced with this year!

“The training started off with full visibility to eventually a very dark and misty view, however even with the tricky weather, the team successfully completed the training. It was a productive evening.”