NEW Quay RNLI’s inshore lifeboat Audrey LJ was launched on two ‘shouts’ on Monday - firstly to assist a 42-foot catamaran in difficult weather conditions and then to save a man from a submerged boat in heavy surf.

At 11.37am the inshore lifeboat was launched at the request of HM Coastguard to assist the catamaran Kuri Moana with two people and a dog on board who had found themselves in difficulty as weather conditions deteriorated.

The D-class inshore lifeboat was launched with four crew members on board and the yacht was located approximately one mile north of New Quay.

Two RNLI crew members boarded the vessel to provide assistance and the yacht was escorted into New Quay harbour and safely moored alongside the harbour wall.

Catamaran skipper Marcus Turle said: “We were on passage from Maryport in Cumbria to the Thames.

“Having left Pwllheli, we were heading for Fishguard when the weather conditions worsened.

“The wind was gusting, the waves were getting high and we were forced to take down our sails.

“We needed to find a safe haven and were very thankful for assistance to come into New Quay harbour.

“We would like to thank the crew members of New Quay RNLI who risked their lives to help us.”

Shortly after the crew had stood down, the pagers were again sounding and the inshore lifeboat was launched for a second time at 3.19pm.

A small boat with one man on board had suffered engine failure in the harbour and was rapidly becoming submerged in the breaking waves as it drifted towards the rocks.

“We saw the situation unfold from the lifeboat station and the boat filled with water very quickly as waves broke over it,” said New Quay RNLI lifeboat operations manager Roger Couch.

“It was fortunate that we were able to launch the inshore lifeboat very quickly.”

Crew member Huw Williams said: “Conditions were quite challenging due to the north-westerly wind, with breaking waves in the harbour.

“In situations like this our training pays off and we quickly recovered the casualty from the submerged boat.”