The volunteer lifeboat crew from Horton and Port Eynon RNLI launched their lifeboat on Saturday (25 January) and had to make four separate trips between Worms Head and the mainland due of the number of people and rough sea conditions.
The five women and two men, who were students at Swansea University from the United States were said to be were extremely grateful to the crew and declared they could not believe that all the crew were unpaid volunteers.
(Image: Geograph)
Lifeboat crew member Jon Tarrant said: “This was a challenging rescue. The swell was up to 2m and the rise and fall of the water presented difficulties in picking up the people and also returning them to shore at Rhossili. It was also a rough passage to and from Horton to Worms Head.”
Lawrie Grove, Lifeboat Operations Manager for Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat Station said: “I would remind people when walking on or near the coast to make sure that they check local tide times and plan walks accordingly.
“Never try to to swim or wade to shore when cut off by the tide, it is extremely dangerous. The causeway at Rhossili that leads to Worms Head is usually open 2 ½ hours either side of low tide and the times it is open are displayed near to the causeway.
“Sometimes the causeway will close earlier when high winds accelerate the incoming tide. You should take a means of communication with you and, if you find yourself in difficulty or see someone in difficulty on or near the coast, phone 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”
(Lead image: RNLI)
It is a shame that there is no mention of the NCI volunteers based at Wormshead, they were the first to raise the alarm, the causeway was closing when the volunteers spotted thes individuals and alerted the Coastguard.