Tenby's all-weather lifeboat RFA Sir Galahad and the town's inshore lifeboat were both launched on Sunday evening after Milford Haven Coastguard received a call stating that four or maybe six youths were in a 12-foot yellow speedboat which had run out of fuel. The incident occurred off Monkstone Point and Tenby Coastguard were also called to the scene. The ILB found the boat and towed it and all on board back to Saundersfoot harbour. On arrival, it was discovered that the vessel had no radio communications, no spare fuel, no distress alarms, no navigational lighting, no flares, no life jackets, an inadequate baler and was also found to be grossly overcrowded. "The owner and all aboard, who were local, were given words of advice regarding safety at sea," said a coastguard spokesperson. "This could have turned into a disaster if the only means of communication, which was a mobile phone, had not been answered. "Mobile phones are only a standby as a means of communiction on the sea and are mostly unreliable, as sea water and spray can cause batteries to corrode and connections to be unreliable," the spokesperson added.
