Concern Over Welsh ‘Drowning Gap’ Reaches London

A Welsh lifeboatman and his son made a barefoot protest at the London Boat Show 2018. Father and son Huw (43) and Steffan (9) Williams walked half-dressed and barefoot to the RNLI stand at the London Boat Show in a symbolic protest against the RNLI’s plan to remove the only all-weather lifeboat from the county of Ceredigion in 2020, creating what has been dubbed the ‘Drowning Gap’ by the Ceredigion Lifeboat Campaign.

The ‘Drowning Gap’ is the sea area in Cardigan Bay that is currently served by an all-weather lifeboat at New Quay. Under the RNLI’s current plans, when this boat is withdrawn at the end of its operational life, there will be a gap of over 70 miles of coastline between the nearest all-weather lifeboat stations in Barmouth and Fishguard.

Cost savings will clearly run into millions of pounds, however a report published by the Ceredigion Lifeboat Campaign claims that 25% of rescues carried out by New Quay’s all-weather lifeboat could not have been achieved by the inshore lifeboat that the RNLI plan to station in New Quay.

For further details visit: www.ceredigionlifeboatcampaign.org.uk