26/04 2008: Pwllheli's new D class inshore lifeboat was named Leslie and Peter Downes at the weekend.
Leslie Downes was a former Royal Navy Officer, and his son Peter died in a diving accident in the English Channel. Fundraising for the lifeboat was spearheaded by Peter's brother Michael, who now lives in north Wales. Michael named the lifeboat and said: ‘My father Leslie was an officer in the Royal Navy for most of World War II, while Peter's hobby for some 20 years was diving – much of it in the sea. It is highly appropriate that their names are united by being carried together on a seagoing lifeboat.
‘The project was formulated on the day I learned of the death of my brother. I would like to gratefully thank all who have contributed to its success in any way. It is our earnest hope that the Leslie and Peter Downes will provide a means of giving help to many and that out of our loss will come great relief for those in distress.'
Many individuals, particularly Peter's wife Carolyn McLaughlin, who has since remarried, tirelessly fundraised and gave generously to bring the project to a successful conclusion. Corporate sponsors also helped with matched funding. The naming ceremony was a proud occasion for everyone involved.
The volunteer RNLI crew at Pwllheli are delighted with the improved version of the D class lifeboat, which increases the top speed capability from 20 to 25 knots. Navigation equipment has also been modernised, as the new lifeboat is fitted with GPS navigation, which helps locate casualties.
Cliff Thomas, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Pwllheli, who accepted the new lifeboat on behalf of the station during the ceremony, said: ‘As a charity, the RNLI is most grateful to Mr Downes and his family and friends for raising vital funds to bring this new inshore lifeboat to Pwllheli. This fine new craft will enable our volunteer crews to continue the long tradition of the RNLI in saving lives at sea. Since arriving on station, the new lifeboat has already proved her worth and launched within 24 hours of arriving on station.'
2008: The 1st call of 2008 for Pwllheli Lifeboat. In the middle of the crews fitness test the boat was requested to launch to assist two persons aboard a 14ft fishing boat with engine failure. Please see Services page for more info.
 17/01/08 Station recieves a new trailer. Every 10 years the ALB trailer is replaced with a reconditioned one and the old trailer is sent back for refit. The ALB was launched at 8am to allow the change over to take place and keep the boat operational. After a long day assembling and disassembling the trailers the crew went out on practice and the ALB was recovered onto her new trailer.
2007 Review : Another busy year at Pwllheli lifeboat Station. Both boats launched a total of 22 occasions assisting many people and craft. Training has continued with a practice every 15 days. Also 3 Crew received Letters of recognition for their role in the the stations biggest rescue in 2006 and 1 crew member receiving a 20 years service medal. The new IB1 inshore Lifeboat was put on station in August and only 24hrs later was called out to assist a yacht taking on water. Crews also continued shore based training, passing a VHF and Yachmaster. The Crew would like to thank the public for their suport and look forward to and safe 2008.
14/12/07 Clive Moore 2nd Coxswain was awarded his 20 year service medal. To date Clive has received a two Framed Letter of Thanks for his role in rescues.
 14/12/07 Three members of Pwllheli lifeboat crew have been honoured for their part in a brave rescue last year. Helmsman Andrew Green was given a framed letter of thanks and both Stephen Glyn Jones and Carl Summersgill were given letters of recognition by the RNLI at a ceremony on Friday night.
The awards were in recognition of their gallant work in rescuing 50 sailors who were caught up by strong winds and high seas between Abersoch and Pwllheli in September 2006.
This was the largest rescue operation in the history of Pwllheli’s crew when 17 boats taking part in a Laser S3B national championship in Cardigan Bay got into difficulties. Waves of between 12 and 15 feet tossed the dinghies around as south-westerly winds of around 40 knots. This is the third framed letter of thanks Pwllheli lifeboat has been awarded in its 110 year history. Three awards of thanks of the institution inscribed on vellum have also been given to crew members.
 23/08/07 IB1's first shout. Just some 24hrs after being put on station Pwllheli's new IB1 gets her first call. Please see Services link.
 22/08/07 Pwllheli Lifeboat Station recives the New Dclass Lifeboat now know as the IB1. The vessel named Leslie and Peter Downes and operational number D676 was delivered on the 23rd of August, After sea trials she entered service the very same day. The new IB1 is very similar to the old Dclass to the untrained eye, but now fitted with a 50hp engine and a top speed of 25knots a fixed GPS and many more improvements that makes assisting people a little easier for the crew. Pwllheli crew where very sad to say good bye to City Of Chester II as she had served the station for some 10 years and assisted many dozens of people. She will now enter the relief fleet continuing to help others in need.
Flag Day: Both boats will be on the water at the North Quay Pwllheli at 10:00hrs for the annual Flag Day. The public will be aloud on board to see how the Lifeboat operates. Please come along to meet the crew and surport the vital work.
 17/05/07 - Both Pwllheli Lifeboats and Abersoch and Cricceith Lifeboats took part in a joint exercise with the rescue helicopter 122. The exercise took place just off Pen Y Chain head. A number of high speed transfers where carried out which is a vital part of the crews training.
09/05/07 - Congratulations to Clive, Alwyn and Andrew who have now passed their Yachtmaster theory exam. They would like to thank Steve Hassan for all his help with the course. Also Congratulations to Jono and Ian for passing their NAVAR course in Poole, this took place over 5 days and they are now trained in search and rescue on the ALB.
01/01/07 - 2006 Review. Well what a difference a year can make. In 2005 Pwllheli Lifeboat had one of it's quietest years in sometime but 2006 proved to be totally opposite. The service of both boats was required and they launched 28 times beating the previous record of 26. Also the station had one of the biggest rescues in the country with 17 boats and over 50 people being assisted in a sever gale back in September. The crew have also been very busy training, launching every 15 days for an exercise and recently the ILB has been launching every Thursday night for Helmsman training. With other training over the year either at the station and at the RNLI base in Poole the crew have shown a lot of dedication. We would like to thank everybody for their support over the year and we look forward to a safe 2007.
20/12/06 IB1- We have been informed by the RNLI we are to receive the replacement for the D Class in February. The IB1 is slightly larger and has a 50hp engine as to the 40hp currently on the D Class. She is also faster at 25 knots and has better navigation abilities. The new boat will be welcomed by the crew but City of Chester II will be sadly missed. However due to the good condition of her, it is likely she will enter the relief fleet and carry on saving lives and assisting in many more rescues.
20/12/06 Congratulations to the lads who went to Poole. After very hard week and a lot of work Pwllheli now has 3 new ILB Helmsmen. Also well done to Barry and Carl who completed the Sea Survival, First aid and Fire Fighting course.
02/12/06 Good luck to Steve, Des and Jono who have gone to Poole to attend the ILB Helmsman course. A lot of hard work over the past few months in preporation has been done by the lads and we wish them all the best.
03/11/06 The crew enjoyed a end of season BBQ tonight. After a local fireworks display the crew meet up at the station for some food kindly prepaired by Roy. A good time was had by all apart from us setting the stations fire alarm off!
18/10/06 New winch. A floor mounted electric winch has been fitted at the station to recover the D Class. Previously the crew had to pull the boat back up the slipway by hand, no mean feet when the tide is out, or use there own cars. The new winch will be a great help in future recovery's.
 18/10/06 Rescue 122 from RAF Valley was on exercise tonight with both Pwllheli Lifeboats and Abersoch and Cricceith Lifeboats. Three lifts where performed on each boat and finally ending with a man overboard and water recovery. Our thanks to the crew of Rescue 122 for a valuable exercise.
11/08/06 Cyclist Will Blight came to the station toady. Will has been going around the county on is bike collection money for the RNLI. He plans to visit every Lifeboat Station in the U.K and Northern Ireland some 198 in all. On his arrival he had covered over 4000 miles and he still had another 55 stations to visit. Yacht Haven Management kindly donated £1000 to each RNLI station Will visits where they manage a Marina, 7 in total. The £1000 will be used at the Pwllheli Station for training. We wish Will all the best for the rest of his journey and thank him and Yacht Haven Management, without kind acts like this the RNLI would not be able to operate.
 02/09/06 A major rescue conducted today by both Pwllheli Lifeboats please see services page.
 12/08/06 The ILB was at the Pwllheli Sailing Club site today taking part in the Pwllheli Picnic day. The crew were kept busy with lots of questions from the public and the children also enjoyed going onboard the D Class. The crew and Ann Williams (Pwllheli RNLI fundraiser) also raised a lot of money for the RNLI and a good day was had by all. Thank you to all who took part.
30/07/06 Sad news. Former shore crew Kevin Ball sadly passed away today. Kevin had been unwell for some time and had to retire from the shore crew some 6 months ago after 13 years loyal service. Kevin was a large friendly character at the station and always had a joke to tell. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family
26/07/06 All of the eight crew who attended the Radar course passed today. After quite an intense course, some 16 hours over 7 nights, the crew are now up to speed with the Laser plot, GPS and Radar. Congratulations to all the crew
16/07/06 The Mobile Radar unit will be at Pwllheli for the next two weeks for the crew to train on the Laser Plot and Radar. This unit is equipped with the same equipment as the ALB but the benefit is the instructor can simulate different scenarios to test the crews abilities. The course will be held at night for approximately 2hr per night.
The D Class will be at the North Quay on the 14th and 15th of July from approximately 10.00am until 2pm whilst the Wakestock competition is being held. The boat will be on display and some of the Crew will be present to help answer any questions you might have. Hopefully there will be many people present and a large amount of money will be raised for the RNLI.
 28/05/06: A BP safety Rib came to Pwllheli on passage from Holyhead to Falmouth. She had suffered fuel pump problems and had to stop for repairs.
 She is 19mtr's in length with a top speed of 35 knots. She has the same engine setup as the RNLI Tamar class lifeboat. These boats are used as medical/safety boats for the oil and gas rigs. Each boat costs £1 million.
 27/04/06: The ILB crew went out tonight with the capsize D Class for more training.
 23/04/06: Both Boat launch. Pwllheli Lifeboats where asked to assist two vessels both taking on water. Porthdinllean Lifeboat had also been launched twice, once on the Saturday night and again on the Sunday afternoon to the same vessels. In total these two vessels had caused 4 separate launches in just one weekend. Please see services page for more details.
 20/04/06: What not to do. A boat today made a slight error when going out. The owner tried to go over the wall but as you can see he didn't have enough water. Thankfully nobody was hurt and the Lifeboat wasn't called out
 09/04/06: The capsize D Class is at Pwllheli for the next month. This boat is an ex D Class and is only used to train the crew. The first crew went out today with an RNLI instructor. The boat will be going out again this Wednesday with some of our crew and some from Abersoch Lifeboat.
 24/02/06: A presentation was held today at the Marina Boat Club in recognition of 20 years service for Alwyn and Neil, also Kevin Ball was presented with a 13 year's service.
22/02/06: Fishguard was not the only lifeboat out in Pwllheli today. The ALB and ILB where also out on practice with an RNLI assessor. All went well, even with a wind chill of -10 degrees, and congratulations to Ian who has now passed his ILB Helmsman's assessment.
 22/02/06: Fishguard Lifeboat came to Pwllheli today for her 6 monthly lift out and re antfoul. The Trent class has a top speed of 25 knots and also has a crew of 6. She is the third Trent class built and was funded by the BBC's Blue Peter program.
13/02/06: Both boats launched at 22:02 to search for a missing person. He was found by the Police 45 min later safe and well.
 05/02/06: Both Pwllheli ALB and ILB along with Criccieth Lifeboat had an exercise with RAF Valley's Seaking Helicopter, Rescue 122. Due to mechanical winch failure the first run was aborted and the helicopter returned to Valley for repairs. At 13:00 the helicopter returned and began the exercise with the Criccieth Lifeboat. After a few transfers with the Atlantic the Seakings winch problem returned and unfortunately the second run was also aborted and the Pwllheli boats where unable to carry out any transfers. Pwllheli Lifeboat crew would like to thank the Criccieth crew for their kind hospitality and the tea and biscuits, and also the Crew of the Seaking for their time and we look forward to future exercises.
28/01/06: First call of the year. The D Class was paged to assist a vessel with engine failure. Andrew, Ian and Jono launched and towed the vessel back to the slipway.
22/01/06: Your help needed. Could I draw your attention to the following link. The crew at South Broads have been stationed in appalling accommodation with no running water or heating for 5 years and now locals want to quash the plans for a new station.
Your support would be most appreciated.
www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/South_Broads_Support/
 21/01/06: Both boats out on practice today. The ALB had a fire drill and the ILB went to St Tudwals islands. As you can see from the photo you can't ask for better weather.
18/01/06: John, Clive, Arfon, Alwyn, Andrew, Steve, Jeff, Des, Jason, Ffiona, Ian and Johno have just started the RNLI's First Aid course. This course is quite intensive with the crew learning First Aid and how to use the equipment on board the boats and much more. The 8 night course, approximately 2 1/2 hours per night, will spread over 4 weeks with a final exam at the end.
2005 Review: All in all a steady year for the Pwllheli Lifeboats and crew, both boats and crew assisted a total of 9 boats, helped pull one man out of quick sand, searched for a sunken dredger, assisted a total of 24 persons and saved two from the water. Even though it was a quite year the crews have still been busy, going out to sea a minium of once a fortnight on exercise and attending several training courses to keep up to date and ready for action.
 17/12/05: Both boats went out today on practice with some of the crew nursing some headaches after the Christmas party the night before. The ALB went to Abersoch and St Tudwals and the ILB stayed by Pwllheli and practiced search patterns, veering down and also a very cold man over board.
12/12/05: Pwllheli's station D Class returns from her annual refit in Cowes the Isle of White. Approximately very 9 months the D Class goes back to Cowes and is stripped down and checked for any damage, wear and a general service. This will probably be the last time as Pwllheli is due for the new IB1 inshore lifeboat next year which is faster and better equipped. "City of Chester II" will be sadly missed by all the crew as she has served us well in saving and helping others in need.
28/11/05: Next exercise will be this Thursday (1/12/05) at 18:00hrs both boats will be out and we also have a divisional inspector with us and assessing some crew.
26/11/05: Congratulations to John Eril who won this months ten pin bowling game. John had a great game and now holds the stations record for the highest score of 232 points in two games, we are now looking forward to a challenge against the Abersoch.
20/11/05: Crew training. Some of the crew have now started the Yachtmasters training. This course is quite in depth an will take some time to complete.
14/11/05: Well done to Ian who has passed the ILB Helmsman course in Poole. The week long course consists of boat handling, night navigation, first aid, search and rescue, helicopter transfers, boat capsize and many more.
28/10/05: Congratulations to Andy who won the ten pin bowling. A good time was had by all and the crew.
27/10/05: The crew get ready for a Ten Pin bowling match of Friday night. Some crew will be staying behind if the boats are needed to launch. Results to follow.
10/10/05: Relief Mersey 12-21 left Pwllheli Marina today on transport to Eastbourn as they have engine troubles with their station boat.
02/10/05: Barmouth Lifeboat is taken back to station after having successful engine trials. The crew bought the relief Mersey 12-21 to Pwllheli and took their boat 12-26 back home. 12-21 will remain at the marina until she is needed for another station.
30/09/05: At 11:32pm Pwllheli ALB was launched to a report of a red flare off Llangbedrog headland. A two hour search flowed but nothing found. It's possible it was a hoax?
 22/09/05: The prototype Mersey class replacement has her first sea trials. The new FCB2 will be 13.7mtr's and have a top speed of 25 knots and eventually replace the Mersey Class lifeboats.
20/09/05: The ILB was called to a small dinghy approx 1 mile south of the Gimblet Rock. It turned out the man was happly fishing and not in need of any assistance
14/09/05: Fishguard Trent Class Lifeboat comes to Pwllheli Marina for a lift out and re antifoul. She has this done every 6-8 months. It was a nice calm clear day so the Fishguard crew had a nice passage.
14/09/05: Barmouth Lifeboat now fixed. Today John Jones, Andrew Green and the Caterpillar mechanic took out 12-26 for engine trials. After a lot of hard work form the Caterpillar mechanic Barmouth's Mersey class is now ready to go back on station.
13/09/05: Barmouth Lifeboat trials. Today John, Steve and the Caterpillar mechanic took out 12-26 for engine trials but unfortunately the problem wasn't cured. She will be going out again tomorrow for further trials.
11/09/05: The ILB has two shouts in 10 minutes. The ILB, Andrew Green as Helmsman and Alan Dop and Ian Jones as crew, were called out to a windsurfer believed to be in trouble. On arrival the crew spoke with the first informants on Abererch beach and discovered they had seen a lobster pot flag, although looking out from shore it was quite hard to define exactly what it was. When the crew made their way home they noticed a powerboat had broken down at the entrance of Pwllheli harbour and were only 20 yards from drifting onto rocks. The ILB went alongside and rigged a tow. The father and his two children where very happy to see the lifeboat. The Bayliner was towed back to Pwllheli and lifted out.
7/09/05: Relief D Class. Today Pwllheli's D Class went to Cowes for her annual refit and D 489 was put on station. John, Wynn and Steve did the changeover in record time - about 1 hour. We should get our D Class City of Chester back before the end of the year.
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