Rescue of Kayakers off Penrhyn Bay

At approximately 1935 yesterday evening we received a call from a member of the public that reported they could hear shouts for help from the water and that, upon further investigation, could see two kayakers in the water near the breakwater in Penrhyn Bay.

We were training on the Great Orme at the time of the call and two of the team members made their way to Penrhyn Bay. At the same time the Llandudno Inshore lifeboat was launched from the slipway at Llandudno and made their way to scene, with one of the crew wearing a helmet camera.

 

 

The Lifeboat arrived on scene and pulled the casualties out of the water. They were then taken to the shore where they were met by two of our team. We then gave them first aid and blankets and sat them in the Coastguard vehicle with the heaters on to warm them up while waiting for the Ambulance service to arrive. The Ambulance service determined one casualty required further treatment and took him to Glan Clwyd Hospital for treatment for Hypothermia.





Children cut off by tide

At 1615 this evening we were called to reports of children cut off by the tide on the Great Orme side of the Pier at Llandudno. We arrived to find the children were in fact cut off but were able to return to the steps safely and of their own accord. After leaving them in the care of two PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers) we returned to station.

Rescue of injured walker

At 2100 tonight we were tasked by the ambulance service to help rescue a walker that had fallen between two rocks on the North Shore side of the Little Orme. We arrived and started to figure out the best way to transport the casualty to hospital. In the end the decision was made to winch the casualty out so Rescue Helicopter 122 from RAF Valley was dispatched.

As we waited for the helicopter to arive we made sure that the casualty was comfortable and ready to be winched. The Paramedics took care of her medical needs while we were making sure that the scene was safe and to lend a helping hand where needed. This included placing the casualty on a spinal board ready for winching.

The helicopter arrived at approximately 2130 and the RAF Medic was winched down to our location and prepared the casualty for winching. The Helicopter then lowered a stretcher down where we then proceded to place the casualty in the stretcher. After making sure the casualty was ready for winching the Helicopter came back around to extract the casualty. The casualty was then flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd for futher treatment. The Welsh Ambulance service, Community first responders and us were all on scene as well as the RAF Search and Rescue Helicopter.

Cliff Rescue Great Orme

At approximately 0900 on the 5th of February 2013 Holyhead Coastguard issued a full team call out to rescue a person found by SARDA Wales who were searching for 49 year old Stephen Masters from the Wirral.

We arrived on scene and set up our cliff rescue equipment after requesting support from Penmon Coastguard. Also En Route were Rescue 122 from RAF Valley on Anglesey.

Rescue 122 Arrived on scene and conducted a risk assesment. Based on this they winched the casualty up into the aircraft. This was the safest method of recovery.

The Casualty was winched into Search And Rescue Helicopter 122 and taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor but unfortunately he was deceased and was later named as Missing Wirral man, 49 year old Stephen Masters.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends at this difficult time.

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award

MEMBERS of a coastal rescue team have been honored by the Queen for their work.


The Llandudno team is part of the Coastguard Rescue Service which has been awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award.

It consists of teams of volunteers drawn from the local community, which are fully trained and equipped to carry out a range of search and rescue operations around the coast of the UK.

They can be called out by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) at any time of the day or night, in all weathers, to respond to and rescue those in trouble or missing or to participate in a multi-agency response to an emergency.

Peter Dymond, Chief Coastguard, said: “I am delighted that the Coastguard Rescue Service has received this award which is a just reward and recognition for our volunteers rescue officers.”


Courtesy North Wales Weekly News

A brief history of Llandudno Coastguard

Llandudno is home to one of the longest-established coastguard teams in Britain. The team was initially tasked with operating a device to save lives from shipwrecks.

The origins of the Coastguard Rescue Service go back to the early 19th century when Captain George Mumby invented his line-throwing apparatus. There had been many shipwrecks where vessels were close to shore but cut off by raging seas, to rescuers’ frustration. Mumby’s device was a mortar which fired a special cannon ball with a short chain attachment and a coil of thin rope. Once fired, the shipwrecked sailors would grasp the rope, then haul a much thicker rope across from the rescuers. A breeches buoy, a sort of cradle, would then be hauled across and the mariners winched ashore (photo, right).

There had been much concern in Parliament about loss of life at sea at that time of sailing ships. In 1815 the House of Commons ordered that Mumby’s equipment should be placed at 45 sites with very bad wreck records, including the Great Orme. Later a more efficient rocket system was introduced and by 1881 there were 195 Life Saving Apparatus (LSA) teams along the coasts of England and Wales. Until the Second World War, the equipment was transported by a wagon drawn by two horses (photo, right).

On 5 November 1967 the Llandudno coastguard team made its first and only rescue by breeches buoy in the 152 years since it had been introduced, to remove a mystery woman from a ship hit by strong winds at Penmaenmawr (see Footnotes for details and photo). A similar fate befell MV Carrier in April 2012 at Llanddulas, but the breeches buoy had been withdrawn many years before and the sailors were removed by helicopter.

Llandudno’s coastguard team also manned two purpose-built lookouts on the Great Orme. One overlooked Llandudno Bay towards Rhyl. The other (pictured right) was above thegunnery school site, overlooking Conwy Bay to Anglesey. These lookouts were demolished after re-organisation and improved radio communications enabled shoreline mobile patrols to be carried out using Land Rovers.

The other important part of the team’s work is cliff rescue. The Great and Little Ormes, with their spectacular sea cliffs, are a magnet for young inexperienced climbers. There have been many rescues and fatalities over the years. The volunteer team, based in Trinity Avenue, is still often called to such incidents. It also rescues sheep stranded on cliff ledges.

With thanks to John Lawson-Reay, of the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay History Society

John Lawson-Reay of Llandudno recalls:

“The 1,000-ton German ship Rethi Muller, while waiting to load stone at the 187-metre-long quarry jetty at Penmaenmawr, was hit by 80kph (50mph) winds. At 10am the captain, Franz Hintz, reported that the pier wouldn’t hold the ship and shortly afterwards it broke free and sprung broadside to the sea. The snapping of the last of the lines caused the bo’sun to break a leg. The ship (pictured, right) dragged anchor towards the lee shore.

“An RAF rescue helicopter took the injured seaman off, at the height of the storm. The Llandudno Life Saving Apparatus team was called, led by Eric Williams, to put a rocket line aboard the ship. I was filming this for the BBC at the time.

“A woman was brought ashore on the breeches buoy and we were told that she was the captain’s wife. We never got a clear look at her. She seemed to be very shy. The German crew decided to stay with their ship, which was by now aground on the beach. Much later it transpired that the lady concerned was from Llandudno and had been ‘entertaining’ the crew!”

Happy New Year

Its been an exiting and busy year for Llandudno Coastguard. We have had a major incident - the beaching of MV Carrier. Dealt with the fire of an iconic boat in Conwy, the rescue of a climber on the Great Orme and the rescue of a fallen walker at Angel Bay. We have also had a few incidents on the Sandbanks and also took part in the Trafalgar Day and the Remembrance Sunday parades. We have also had to say goodbye to our Sector manager and welcome a new one.

We have saved many lives this year and hope to continue to save more lives next year.

We wish you all Happy new year from all at Llandudno Coastguard.

Goodbye...

After 23 years in the Coastguard service we are sad that Will Williams, Clwyd sector manager will be retiring. Will, who joined the coastguard in 1989 has had a close connection with our team and has been a key part in training Coastguard Rescue officers (CROs) in cliff, mud and water rescue. He will be missed by all and we wish him a very happy retirement.

Our new sector manager will be Roy Ferneux and we also wish him well for the future.

Pride of Britain awards

Many Congratulations to our Coastguard and RNLI colleagues down in Hartlepool for winning a Pride of Britain award for the rescue of Neil Robson trapped in quicksand from a rapidly rising spring tide.

Story From Daily Mail:

A teenager is lucky to be alive after becoming trapped waist-deep in sand as he went to rescue two children from the rising tide.

The 16-year-old boy had waded out to reach two younger members of his family off Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Cleveland, when he began to sink in soft sand and his foot became stuck under a rock. 

He then remained there - stuck up to his waist with the tide coming in - for an hour and 15 minutes as a huge rescue operation was launched.

A water jet was first used to loosen the sand around the teenager, while RNLI divers went below the water to try and free the boy. The 16-year-old was stuck in the sand for an hour and 15 minutes

Family members had tried to help him escape but with the tide coming in fast, emergency services were called.

After coastguards and fire officers managed to work the youngster out of the sands he was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton.

The teenager escaped without serious injuries, but was treated for mild hypothermia.

Fire chiefs and Hartlepool RNLI volunteers said that the victim was extremely lucky and had they been called 30 minutes later it could have turned into a 'different situation'. 

The drama unfolded at Seaton Carew beach at around 5.20pm yesterday.

Fire chiefs and Hartlepool RNLI volunteers said that the victim was extremely lucky and had they been called 30 minutes later it could have turned into a 'different situation'

A water jet was first used to loosen the sand, while RNLI divers went below the water to try and free the boy.

RNLI volunteer helmsman Mark Barker, who was first on the scene, said: 'He was trapped in the sand with the tide coming in fast.

'At first he was quite calm, but he began to panic a little with the shock and the fact the sea was rising.' 

Mike Craddy, lifeboat operations manager for Hartlepool RNLI, added: 'The boy was very lucky, with the tide coming in fast we could have been talking about a different situation.

Coastal: The beach where the youngster was rescued stretches two miles and was the coastline 'canoe man' John Darwin vanished from in 2002

'Our team worked together extremely well and thankfully with the help of the fire service managed the extracate the boy.' 

Ronnie Olds, crew manager at Stranton Fire Station, said the victim was 'very lucky' and issued a warning to others to be careful in and around this area of the beach.

He said: 'We assisted the RNLI and Coastguard and used a water jet to help to free the boy.

'With the ongoing movement of the sea defences we want to warn people to be careful on the beach.'

A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service, said: 'There was an exceptionally high demand of cases last night.

'We normally have around 350 cases on a Friday evening, but we had 530 this week.

'Ideally we would have got an ambulance to the scene quicker, but the victim was under continuous care of a paramedic when he was taken to hospital.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2044581/Rescue-boy-16-trapped-waist-sand-Seaton-Carew.html#ixzz2AomRcLZ6
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Trafalgar Day Celebrations

Every year on Trafalgar Day the team take part in the Trafalgar day ceremony by the cenotaph on the promenade in Llandudno. This year we were joined by some of our colleagues from the Isle of Man, with who we have a strong connection, as well as two members of Rhyl Coastguard.

"21 October is the anniversary of the most decisive naval battle in British history - Admiral Lord Nelson’s triumph at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The anniversary also marks the death of Nelson who was fatally wounded during the action." - Royal Navy

Sandbanks

At 2215 yesterday evening we were called out, along with Llandudno Lifeboat and  Rescue 122 from RAF Valley, to the West Shore where we received reports of three males on the sandbanks.

We were first on scene and started to search the sandbanks for the three males. This was made difficult due to the time of night. We were kitted out in water rescue gear so we could assist if needed. Th first informant was still on scene and informed us that the three males were off the sandbanks and were walking up the beach. Two of our team approached the men, who were on holiday, and gave some safety advice.

Please, if visiting the coast, read and obey safety signs and don't put yourself in danger.

Fallen person at Angel Bay

At 2030hrs on the 08/07/2012 we received a call about a fallen male at Angel Bay on the Little Orme. This was a full team cliff call as he was reported to have fallen 20 Meters down a cliff.


The 82 year old male fell as he was walking the path and was left injured at the bottom. Luckily for him three teenagers had seen what happened and they raised the alert. They also went down to the man to check how he was before help arrived.


 Llandudno ILB and an Ambulance along with an Ambulance Officer, who is also a Coastguard Rescue Officer, were also called. We arrived on scene and decided after conducting a dynamic risk assessment a rope rescue was considered too dangerous. 


The Ambulance officer and another Paramedic accompanied by a Coastguard Rescue Officer proceeded down the path towards the injured male who lay at the bottom. The Paramedics stabilised the casualty and considered an extraction by lifeboat.


By this time however Rescue 122 from RAF Valley had arrived on scene and this was considered the best option for extraction. The Sea King Helicopter landed on the beach and took all members of the rescue services and the casualty to the top of the cliff. The male was given some advice before being checked in the ambulance and the Coastguard Rescue Officers took him back to the caravan park where he was staying. 


The male was described to be wearing 'Dancing Shoes' and this incident could have been avoided if he would have been wearing the appropriate footwear.

2 Persons reported on Sandbanks

At 1515hrs on the 14/07/2012 we were called to reports of 2 persons on the sandbanks at the West Shore.Conwy ILB were launched and arrived on scene at 1520 along with us.

An RNLI Crew member walked out from the lifeboat onto the sandbanks towards the pair. The crew member advised the pair that the tide was coming in and they were soon to be cut off. The pair refused to accept the advice and continued fishing. The RNLI crew member returned to the lifeboat and returned to station. We then advised the promenade inspector to keep an eye on the pair and call us out if they got into difficulty.

 If you are going to visit Llandudno's West Shore please DO NOT walk out onto the lower part of the beach. This area is where the sandbanks are located. The tide will come in quicker than you think and you will be cut off. Please see the incident map to see where it is not safe to walk onto.

Rescue of crew members from a stricken ship.

At 2015hrs we were tasked to the Raynes jetty at Llanddulas, near Colwyn Bay, to reports of a Ship aground. We arrived at scene at 2025hrs and immediatly requested a full team call out. We also requested the Llandudno and Rhyl All-Weather Lifeboats and they were launched on service at 2030hrs. They arrived by 2100 and stood by as it was considered too dangerous to attempt a rescue by boat. We were also met by Rhyl Coastguard to assist in the rescue.

A helicopter was requested as this was deemed the safest option, but the nearest Helicopter available was Royal Navy Rescue 177 from HMS Gannet (Prestwick, Scotland) as 22 squadron at RAF Valley were out of action. It took an hour from HMS Gannet to reach RAF Valley on Angelsey to refuel before arriving at scene.

When they arrived they spotted a small fire on the Port side bridge wing. This made extracting the crew quickly crucial. This was later confirmed as a distress flare. At 2240, five of the seven crew had been rescued. The first five crew members were landed on the A55 and handed over to The Welsh Ambulance Service but required little or no treatment.

But during the rescue of the second group, the winch became tangled around a light fixture and had become un-serviceable. Rescue 177  then landed at the North Wales Police HQ, to drop off the two casualties on board the helicopter, as a power failure on land had caused the street lamps to extinguish.

Rescue 177 then flew to RAF Valley to attempt a repair on its winch. A second helicopter was requested, which arrived from RAF Leconfield, to extract the two remaining casualties and Royal Navy Winchman who were still on board.

The crew were all evacuated by 0100 and we returned to station.

Concerns that the fuel tanks have ruptured were raised as fuel could be smelt around the ship. The A55 had been closed until 1300, where a reassessment took place to determine weather it was safe to reopen the carriageway.

Pollution and salvage experts have assessed the situation this morning and are determining the best course of action. It was found that some gas oil had leaked, but because of the sea state it dispersed quickly and left little enviromental damage.

The MCA Secretary of States Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP) are working closely with Environment agency Wales, the Welsh assembly Government and the RSPB.

BBC Article
Daily Mail article

Early start to the season

At 16:00hrs we were called to a climber that had fallen 30ft from a cliff face at a location known locally as Pen Trwyn on the Great Orme. The Paramedic (who is also a member of the team) requested our attendance to assist in the recovery of the casualty as he knew that area well.

The casualty suffered suspected spinal injuries and was placed on a spinal board. Due the difficult position of the casualty the safest method of extrication was via RAF Rescue 122 who winched the casualty to safety and took him to Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.

Climbers at Pen Trwyn

BBC Article
Daily post article

As we cleared from this incident we were tasked to a boat on fire at Conwy. Details of casualties at this time was unknown.

When we arrived at the scene, the boat known as 'The Grey Lady' was well alight.

The Grey Lady on fire

The Grey Lady in its  former state

North Wales Fire and rescue service arrived on scene and extinguished the fire and remained on scene damping down until it was safe.

We were tasked to preserve life and protect the scene from members of the public who might have been in danger. We also made sure that the environment was protected from hazards and pollutants.

BBC Article