A crew of three people and a dog were rescued off the coast of Aberystwyth after the vessel they were sailing in lost all power more than three miles out to sea.

On Saturday, 8 March, Aberystwyth RNLI's inshore lifeboat was launched to assist the 7.6m yacht.

The crew were tasked by HM Coastguard at approximately 1.45pm with Helm Paul Williams in command alongside his fellow crew.

Paul said: “Luckily the weather was favourable on Saturday and the sea state was calm, so we soon launched and were on the water heading towards the casualty vessel. It took us a fair while to reach the boat.

After it was established that everyone was okay, Paul and his crew assessed the situation liasing with the Coastguard on the best course of action.

Paul said: “The three people, and even Archie the dog, onboard the boat were grateful for our arrival. They had been stranded for over an hour after their boat lost all power. They had been attempting to contact any other vessels in the area for support but to no avail.”

Due to the time that had passed with the casualty vessel trying to contact nearby boats for any support, and because the boat had lost all power so was unable to move to a place of safety, their was a risk that if left – the boat could drift and endanger those onboard.

Paul added: “The decision was made to establish a tow and bring the three people and Archie the dog back to safety. Thankfully everyone on board was wearing lifejackets – including Archie!”

The crew established a tow and brought the vessel to safety at Aberystwyth Harbour.

Paul added: ‘Although a long shout for us, we were delighted to be able help this group and bring them back to safety.”