A VOLUNTEER lifeboat crew set out in high winds to rescue a small yacht.
The crew of Rhyl’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution were called out at about 11am on Thursday after Holyhead Coastguard received 999 calls stating that a small yacht called Sarah 2 was making little or no progress in seas off Abergele.
The Rhyl all-weather lifeboat Lil Cunningham set off in conditions that a charity spokesperson described as “a fairly rough sea and high winds”.
The yachtsman of Sarah 2 had started off early from Red Wharf Bay on Anglesey in the early hours, but was making very little headway in the poor conditions.
The lifeboat, under Coxswain Martin Jones’ first command, went alongside the vessel.
A spokesperson from the RNLI said: “The single occupant was very tired, and it was agreed the lifeboat crew would escort the vessel to its destination of Rhyl harbour where conditions could be hazardous to a small boat.
“The two boats waited outside the harbour entrance for about an hour until the tide started ebbing and conditions moderated enough to attempt a passage to the harbour.”
The lifeboat successfully guided the yacht in and the lifeboat crew then checked that the man and his boat were safe on a mooring.
The lifeboat was returned to station at 2.48pm.