RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station

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The official page for RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station. Information on calls, training, events & more!

01/11/2026

We were extremely sad to hear that former crewman Gareth Ogwen Jones has passed away 😢

You might recall that, only in September, Gareth came to the station to be presented with a painting by Ian Walton depicting a dramatic medal-winning rescue from 1976, when he was part of the crew who rescued four sailors from the yacht 'Pastime' in extreme conditions.

Gareth was a quietly spoken man, who served as a volunteer for many years, and we pay tribute to him by flying our station flag at half mast.

We send love and condolences to Gareth's family at this very sad time.

Rest in peace, Gareth. Thank you for your service. Fair winds and following seas ⚓️

25/10/2026

✨️ CREW AWARDS AND SPECIAL THANKS ✨️

Earlier this afternoon, we gathered for our annual October get-together, where we welcome new crew, say goodbye to departing crew, and recognise long-service of volunteers.

We also vote for the 'Crew's Crew' award - a shield which is presented to a well-deserving crew member for their exceptional efforts over the last 12 months.

As if that wasn't enough, we also welcome some of our supporters along, who are amazing in their fundraising efforts to support our station.

To start the afternoon off, new crew pagers were given to Dean and Laighton, who have joined us recently and are embarking on their lifeboat crew journey. Welcome aboard and safe seas to both of you! ⚓️

Then we presented official Holyhead crew attire to Josh, Matt and Sian, who have been with us for a year (with Sian rejoining after a few years off the crew to bring up her family)🌊

We also said a huge thank you and goodbye to Dr Gareth Ford, who has been our crew doctor for 25 years, no mean feat with the amount of crew we have had over the years! 👏⚓️

Then we had the long-service awards. Firstly, we congratulated Gareth, who is a Deputy Coxswain, ALB and ILB crewman, who was congrated for 30 years as a lifeboat volunteer. Amazing dedication - Gareth joined the crew as a teenager and is still going strong! ✨️⚓️

10-year service awards were presented to recently departed crewman Reece, who was also given his RNLI Certificate of Service, and our press officer Vicki ⚓️🌊

And then.....*drumroll* it was time to announce this year's winner of the Crew's Crew shield. This year's winner is.. 🥁🥁🥁Mike Munro!

Mike was voted by fellow crew as someone who has gone above and beyond in his lifeboat duties this year. Not only is he a vital part of our shore crew, as Head Launcher, tractor driver and all round good guy, Mike also occasionally supplies us with ice cream (although we promise that's not why he won 😅🍦)

The John Cave Shield was presented to Mike by its sponsors the South Stack Lighthouse & Visitor Centre group. Huge well done, Mike - very well-deserved! 👏

Then it was time to receive donations to our station from two of our biggest supporters.

Firstly, members of Llanfwrog Sailing Club presented proceeds from events they hold every season - and they also came equipped with a personally written poem of thanks! ⛵️

The second donation was presented to us from the team at Cybi Coastal Marathon , who we host every year for their brilliant event 🏃‍♂️

A heartfelt thank you to both groups for their constant support - we really treasure the relationships we have with local community groups, and these are two very special ones ❤️

Congratulations to everyone who received an award today, and thank you once again to everyone who attended, and help make our station what it is, including our families and friends 🧡⚓️💙

🏆 Crew awards were presented by our Chairman Hefin, our LOM (Lifeboat Operations Manager) David and our Coxswain Mark.

📷 by Vicki Owens and Richard Burnell

23/10/2026

HOLYHEAD LIFEBOAT NEWS

You may have seen news from the RNLI over the last week or so about a change in their lifeboat fleet over the next few years.
Between now and 2040, the charity has widespread plans to introduce some new lifeboats into the fleet, while others are being decommissioned.

Amongst the lifeboats being decommissioned nationwide are the all-weather Severn and Trent-class lifeboats. As you probably know, our previous Severn-class lifeboat Christopher Pearce was withdrawn from our station in 2024, and since then we have been operating with a Trent-class lifeboat, with our current one, Ger Tigchelaar, allocated to us earlier this year.

With the planned changes, all Trent-class lifeboats are being decommissioned in 2028, so with that will come another big change for our station.

Earlier this month, our crew were informed that Holyhead Lifeboat Station will be one of those to be allocated a new Coastal Lifeboat (CLB)

This new type of lifeboat is still in the design/production stage, but it will be self-righting, and will have the latest marine technology on board. It is being designed for optimised performance up to 10 miles from shore, but the RNLI report it will be capable of operating up to 25nm from the coast, and will have a wheelhouse as part of its design.

As it’s a brand new boat, there are no definite images to share as yet, but the picture below is an indication of how it will look on completion.

We’ll also be getting a brand new berth built, meaning the lifeboat will be back beside the station, which is very good news. You may recall our previous ALB berth at Holyhead Marina was lost in Storm Emma in 2018, and since then our ALB has been berthed within Holyhead Port, approximately 1 mile from the station. Having a berth back will mean faster launches and much more accessibility for the public to see our lifeboat too.

We’ll keep you all updated on any progress and dates nearer the time.

Our trusty and hard-working D-class inshore will remain here with us as usual.

As always, we thank everyone in our fantastic community for all the support we receive. Our lifeboats and crews are funded by you, and we never take that for granted. From the donations from schoolchildren, cash put into collection tins around the town and beyond, the fundraising events that are held for us, the many people who call into our volunteer-ran shop, the thank you donations we receive from rescued casualties and their families and so much more, every penny makes a difference.

We hope you’re all staying safe in this storm – no doubt the first of many over the winter, so take care everyone ⚓

22/10/2026

❗️️ STORM SAFETY ADVICE ❗️

With Storm Austen heading our way, we'd just like to remind everyone to take extra care around our beautiful but dangerous coastline.

Stay away from exposed cliff edges, keep dogs on leads, and always have a means of calling for help if you or someone else gets into difficulty - and dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.

We know that storms make great photographs, but take them from a safe distance. Don't put yourself at risk for a good bit of social media content.

Stay safe everyone ⚓️

04/10/2026

A last lifeboat exercise this morning for our crewman Reece, who's standing down as a volunteer after 10 years.

Reece has been a member of both the ILB and ALB crews, and he also has spent time as a qualified deputy lifeboat mechanic.

We'll miss him so much - a valued friend and crewman.

We can't sum up Reece's contribution over the decade more than this:

'It’s been a pleasure, Reece, and your time on both boats has been an asset to the station and to your community. All the very best, and thanks for all you have given over your 10 plus years, well done!' - our coxswain, Mark ⚓️

'It's always a sad day for any crew member to call time on service and to hang up those yellows for the last time. Reece, you have been a steady hand. Thank you for your service, and for helping with your fellow crew members keeping the waters around our hostile coastline safe.' - deputy coxswain/mechanic (and previous full-time mechanic) Ian ⚓️

The rest of the crew echo all these sentiments tenfold. We'll still hopefully see a fair bit of Reece as his wife Kiri is still part of our crew!

But for now, the yellows and pager are to be hung up, so Reece can focus on work and family commitments.

Good luck for the future, Reece. It's been an honour to be on the crew alongside you 👏🧡💙

📷 Reece is pictured earlier today on his last exercise, and then with a group of the station's lifeboat mechanics, who presented him with a commemorative spanner on a plinth, and a bottle of one of his favourite tipples ✨️

03/10/2026

Our station flag is flying at half mast as we join stations across the UK paying tribute to the volunteer at RNLI Hastings Lifeboat Station who tragically passed away earlier this week.

Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to their family, friends and fellow crew at this very sad time.

Fair winds and following seas ⚓️

02/10/2026

📻 SHOUT! 📻

Tuesday saw our ILB volunteers launch to assist a vessel in trouble in Holyhead Harbour.

Pagers sounded at 4.45pm, requesting the launch of the ILB Mary and Archie Hooper. The vessel, a 38ft sailing yacht with six people on board, had a fouled propeller, and was drifting towards Holyhead Breakwater.

Volunteers launched the lifeboat within minutes and headed to the location, approximately 100m from the breakwater end.

After assessing the situation, it was decided that for safety reasons due to the casualty vessel’s position, and the fact her anchor was being dragged along the sea bed, a tow would be established, and the yacht and occupants would be brought to the safety of Holyhead Harbour.

The tow was quickly established, and the casualty vessel was placed on the safety of a mooring. The lifeboat then left the scene and headed back to the lifeboat station, where she was washed and prepared for any further calls.

*The ALB had also been paged, just after the ILB, but was not required and did not launch.

Photo: ILB Mary and Archie Hooper (library photo)

25/09/2026

Nothing to see here, just an ILB crew bobbing along on a training exercise.....

⚓️

24/09/2026

Yesterday evening, our crew took part in a training exercise alongside the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter team.

This was the first time we've experienced their latest helicopter close up.

The new helicopter is a AgustaWestland AW139, which replaced the previous Sikorsky S-92 model. It's widely regarded as one of the smoothest and quietest models in its category.

Our crew practised winch operation techniques, including placing the winch paramedic onto the aft deck of the all weather lifeboat, and winching the stretcher and paramedic back up.

These exercises are vital to help us carry out rescues at sea when the time comes. Some of our longest rescues over the years have been alongside our friends at the HM Coastguard, and we always find their professionalism and expertise as excellent as you'd expect.

Huge thanks to all the heli team for joining us on yesterday's exercise We hope you found it as enjoyable and worthwhile as we did. We look forward to the next one! ⚓️🚁

📷 by crew Holly Owen and Ben Harper.

15/09/2026

You may have seen us on the Welsh news on Friday (BBC Wales) as a very special presentation was taking place at our station.

Gareth Ogwen Jones, a former volunteer crewman, came to the station to be presented with a painting depicting a dramatic medal-winning rescue from 50 years ago.

In September 1976, the crew of Holyhead RNLI launched the St. Cybi lifeboat in Force 10 gales to rescue four sailors on board a yacht 'Pastime', which was 30 miles off the coast. The extreme weather meant 30 foot high waves, poor visibility, and some of the worst conditions Gareth had ever seen. To make things worst, one of the lines from the yacht wrapped around one of the lifeboat's propellers.

The sailors were thankfully all rescued, but the vessel was lost, and the perilous rescue has always stayed with Gareth, who is now 89 years old. A few years ago he had asked Anglesey-based artist Ian Walton ( The Ian Walton Gallery Oriel Beaumaris ) if he could paint the scene as a lasting memory of that day - and finally, on Friday, he got to see the results.

Gareth reunited with other former crew (and plenty of current ones!) for the presentation, including our station president Graham Drinkwater MBE, who was also a crewman on the rescue.

It was fantastic to see so many faces, past and present, on Friday, and a huge thank you to Ian for painting such a precious scene ⚓️

Address

Newry Beach
Holyhead
LL651YA

Website

https://fundraise.rnli.org/fundraisers/Holyhead

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