Dramatic yacht rescue

Aug 28 2008

TWO people were dramatically rescued from their sinking yacht off the coast of Llyn last week.

A father and his young daughter were travelling from Fishguard to Caernarfon when their boat The Fregancia ran into trouble early last Friday morning.

The father had desperately tried to bail out water for around an hour after the boat sprung a leak just off the coast of Bardsey Island.

He raised the alarm at around 3am and an RAF Valley rescue helicopter was first to arrive on the scene.

By the time help had arrived, the water on the 25ft yacht was already ankle high.

The water on the boat was eventually removed by a salvage pump belonging to the Porthdinllaen inshore lifeboat after weather conditions proved too tasking for the RAF helicopter to use theirs.

The yacht was eventually towed to Aberdaron, with the father and daughter still inside, before the vessel was transferred over to the RNLI Pwllheli crew who resumed the tow back to the town’s marina.

Dylan Thomas of the Porthdinllaen RNLI crew said the pair were "very lucky".

"It was a bit of an ordeal for both the father and the daughter.

"The conditions were rough and the waves were lapping over the boat."

"From what I understand, the daughter was very upset, but you expect that in such a situation.

"Although the whole crew are volunteers, they are all well trained and were able to deal with the situation appropriately."