A retired Porthdinllaen RNLI coxswain has been awarded the Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service to the Maritime Industry at a ceremony at Trinity House in London.

Mike Davies, Porthdinllaen coxswain from 2003 to 2018, received the award from Princess Anne. He said he was just doing his job, and winning anything for it was “the last thing” on his mind.

Mike’s maritime career, which spans over 44 years, includes a period serving in the Royal Navy and as a fisherman fishing the local waters of North Wales, before embarking on a career that took him worldwide in commercial supply and support vessels in the oil and gas industry.

In 2003, Mike joined the RNLI as coxswain of Porthdinllaen Lifeboat Station where his passion and dedication for the sea saw him inspire, educate and mentor his crew, leading to a number of them gaining cadet ships and pursuing maritime careers.

After retiring from the RNLI in 2018 Mike’s passion for the sea continued; he now works as a bosun at South Caernarfonshire Yacht Club at Abersoch where he continues to train and educate his team of young people in maritime skills.

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