A MYSTERY empty boat found anchored off Clarach last week turned out to be a boat which had gone missing from New Quay a few days earlier.

The volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew from Aberystwyth were called at 5pm on Wednesday, 16 August, to go and investigate a vessel off Clarach that had not moved for over five hours.

A member of the public had noticed that an orange and white vessel around one mile off Clarach had not moved all afternoon.

With the weather deteriorating, the person was concerned that someone may be in difficulty and called the emergency services.

The RNLI Atlantic 85 lifeboat Spirit of Friendship was launched into choppy seas and a force five wind, and was able to locate the boat quickly with the guidance of Aberystwyth coastguards.

Once located, the crew found the vessel had its anchor down but with no people on board.

However, the crew found clothes on board, causing them to fear someone had gone into the water and got into trouble.

The crew immediately started to plot a search pattern and informed the UK Coastguard of the situation and requested additional help with the search. As more volunteers were readying to start the search, they were informed that the vessel may have been reported missing from New Quay a few days earlier.

After some investigation and clarification of items on board the boat, it was confirmed to be the missing vessel and no search was required.

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