A busy two days for Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat volunteers. Sunday’s first shout to a windsurfer in difficulties and a special crew on board the lifeboat. Later in the afternoon crews were tasked to carry out searches along the coastline. Crews also responded to a callout Monday morning.

During Sunday morning training RNLI crews were paged at 10:30 to reports of a windsurfer in difficulty in Newton Bay. Arriving on scene the Atlantic 85 class lifeboat ‘Rose of the Shires’ located the windsurfer who was being swept out to sea by the strong easterly wind and the outgoing tide. The crew managed to pick up the casualty and with him safely on board he was landed ashore at Newton Beach where he was met by Porthcawl Coastguard Unit.

Porthcawl’s Lifeboat Operations Manager, Philip Missen said, ‘What was interesting for us was that on Sunday morning’s shout to the windsurfer we had a very special crew on board, two sets of father and son. The RNLI is well known for family ties within its volunteers but this must be so rare it suddenly struck me as I was completing the report on the incident and naming the crew. Both helmsman Carl Evans and Andrew Walmsley were accompanied by their sons Lewis and Ieuan respectively. Both sons have been visiting the station for years growing up and now, both old enough, they have chosen to follow tradition and become volunteer crew’.

Later on Sunday at 16:30 HM Coastguard paged the crews and requested that both lifeboats be launched in order to conduct a search from Sker Point to Witches Point following a reported incident. The search proved negative and both lifeboats were stood down at 18:00.

At 09:30 on Monday HM Coastguard paged our volunteer crews requesting both lifeboats be launched to a serious incident east of the station. Crews worked on scene with other rescue services including local Coastguard Units, police and the Coastguard SAR helicopter.