A day in the life of a coast guard volunteer

10:46 PM Sat 4 Jul 2009 GMT

'O no! SIX HOURS!' .

SHE is on the bow, watching for shallows as the yacht enters through the river delta. HE is steering.

'Ok you're doing fine, good good.....now go to starboard - starboard!'

Pause.

'Starboard I said. You're not going far enough to starboard. SEE MY HAND - THAT WAY THAT WAY. STARBOARD. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, S T A R B O A R D!'

The yacht ceases to move.

She's rushing down the deck. The dog starts barking. 'I told you to go starboard!'
'I DID go starboard!'
'Well, not far enough, now we're stuck. Can you reverse?'
'You didn't tell me soon enough. Yes I'll reverse out.'

Sounds of engine revving. Dog still barking.

'Shut up, Freddie, stop that barking. Are we moving?'
'I can't tell, just a minute, keep revving.'

Now she is lining her arms up with the shore.

'No, we're not moving, you idiot. We should have turned earlier.'
'I turned as soon as you bloody told me. You should be watching more carefully.'
'You hardly turned at all - I don't think you were even listening. What's the tide doing?'

pause.

'O, no.'
'What.'
'It's going out.'
'You mean we're stuck here?'
'Unless I can move the boat somehow, yes.'
'How long?'

Pause.

'About six hours.'
'Six hours? SIX HOURS? Why do you always do this? IT'LL BE DARK!'

Freddie starts barking again.

'Shut up, Freddie. Probably.'

'O MY GOD.'

'What?'

'I've just remembered - I HAVE TO PICK UP ALISON FROM THE SPORTS FIELD.'

'I can't think for that bloody dog barking. OK - OK - I'll call the coastguard to take you off.'

'What a good idea - IT'LL PROBABLY BE PERMANENT.'

'And you can take Freddie with you, he's driving me crazy.'

'He knows there's a problem - AND ANYWAY DON'T BE SILLY - THE COAST GUARD WON'T TAKE A BLOODY DOG!'

A day in the life of a RNLI volunteer - .. .

North Wales Pioneer, 3rd June, 2009:

RNLI Rescue Woman and Dog
CONWY Lifeboat was called into action today to rescue a stranded yacht.

The vessel had gone aground on Conwy Bar - a build up of sand at the river's delta - due to an ebbing tide, and was leaning to one side.

A couple were onboard the yacht along with their dog.

The volunteer RNLI crew rescued the woman and her pet, who were both brought safely to ashore at the marina.

The man remained on the yacht to wait for the tide to come in.

by Blackwattle Studios