Angle RNLI crew clock up the hours as the busiest in Wales (From Western Telegraph)

Angle RNLI crew clock up the hours as the busiest in Wales

12:30pm Saturday 11th February 2012 in News

Angle’s RNLI crew spent more hours at sea responding to emergencies last year than any other of the 31 welsh lifeboat crews.

The crew clocked up Almost 560 hours at sea responding to emergency situations compared with 451 hours the previous year.

Many of the station’s launches involved long tow operations, miles from the coast. This is in addition to the 492 hours the crew spent training.

Angle’s Tamar class lifeboat also assisted more people than any other all-weather lifeboat in Wales – helping to bring 43 people to safety in 2011.

It was also a busy period for lifeboat crews at Tenby – the second busiest RNLI lifeboat station in Wales – with a total of 71 call outs during 2011.

Tenby’s all-weather lifeboat was the busiest in the country with 30 launches.

Lifeboats in Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have contributed to a record year for the RNLI.

Across the whole charity welsh volunteer crews spent more hours than ever responding to emergencies in 2011.

Lifeboat crews across Wales spent 6,877 hours responding to call-outs during the year.

The 600 welsh volunteers spent an additional 19,196 hours training, taking the total number of hours on the water to 26,073.

Colin Williams, RNLI Divisional Inspector of Lifeboats for Wales said: “Nearly half the stations in Wales saw the number of launches at their respective station rise in 2011, as more and more people take to the sea for leisure and recreation.

“Our lifeboat volunteers and lifeguards have undoubtedly demonstrated their dedication to saving lives at sea. But they wouldn’t be able to save lives without the incredible generosity of the public.”