History has been made at Abersoch Lifeboat Station this week with the appointment of two new helmsmen, including the station’s first female commander.

Following months of training, practical assessments and study, Elissa Williams and Guy Williams passed their final assessments enabling them to take command of the Atlantic 85 at Abersoch RNLI.

Elissa is the first female helm to take command of Abersoch Lifeboat, which has been saving lives at sea in the waters around the small fishing village for 150 years following the inception of a lifeboat station in 1869.

Elissa, a crew member of 14 years is also a member of the RNLI Flood Rescue team, is a solicitor and director of Gamlins Law Ltd.

She said: “It feels amazing to have passed the final assessments. It feels like an immense responsibility and I am absolutely inspired by the high standards of professionalism of the other helms. I am honoured to be the first female helmsman at the station.”

Guy Williams, an engineer, joined the station in 2008 following in the footsteps of his father who was a volunteer crew at Abersoch Lifeboat Station in the 1960s. Guy is an integral part of his family’s business which has a long history in the village with roots as far back as 1896.

Guy said: "It is a great sense of achievement after so many months of training, the commitment of the crew has been invaluable, with the volunteers at the station putting in many extra hours at weekends and after work to help Elissa and I in the preparation for the final assessments. I am now looking forward to putting my training into practice as a helmsman and helping to train the next generation of crew."

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