INFORMATION & CLUBS TO JOIN

Saundersfoot Medical Centre, Westfield Road, Saundersfoot SA69 9JW  Call 01834 815115

For further information, visit the Saundersfoot Medical Centre website by CLICKING HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a great Facebook page that enables holiday lets, B&B’s, hotels and camp sites post up last-minute availability within a 2-3 month window of the date of the advert.

So for would be holiday-makers or perhaps if you have friends and relations looking to stay with you and you are struggling to fit them in, WGR4U might be just the place to find something!

Visit the WE’VE GOT ROOM FOR YOU FACEBOOK PAGE by clicking the image below

 

 

 

 

For information on local Leisure Centres, please CLICK HERE

 

 

 

For a downloadable version of the above map, please CLICK HERE

For other towns and villages in Pembrokeshire CLICK HERE

 

 

Some great hints and tips from the RNLI to help you stay safe while in or on the water bought to you by our local RNLI branch and volunteers

1. Get some training for your chosen activity.

Getting expert help and tuition not only makes your activity safer but also makes it more enjoyable – it’s always easier to learn from somebody else’s experience than it is to learn from your own mistakes.

This could take the form of joining a local club e.g.

www.saundersfootsailingclub.org.uk or www.tenbysailingclub.org.uk

Or you might like to get your initial experience from an accredited hire centre where they will provide safety cover.  Or you could undertake a course from the RYA for boating: https://www.rya.org.uk/courses-training/Pages/hub.aspx

or the BCU for kayaking: https://www.britishcanoeunion.org.uk

The RNLI also offers a safety visit to your vessel – anything from a kayak to a sailing or motor cruiser – currently suspended due to COVID restrictions, but email Tenby@RNLI.org or book using the ‘Register your interest’ button on this page: https://rnli.org/safety/what-we-can-do-for-you if you’d like to take advantage of this and we will contact you to arrange a visit as soon as we are able.

2. Check Weather and tides before you go

The weather is one of the biggest factors affecting your safety – strong winds can make the sea very dangerous and getting colder (or hotter) than you were prepared for can also affect your safety.

Direction of the wind as well as strength of the wind affects the sea state. Wind direction is given as where it is coming from – e.g. a Westerly wind is blowing from West to East.

Land can provide shelter from the wind and sometimes the wind is blowing straight on to the shore which means any shelter is lost, so it’s important to understand how different wind directions affect different locations.

You may see a relatively calm sea, but beyond a headland things may be very different.

If you have any doubt that conditions are not safe, don’t go – it’s far better to be on land wishing you were at sea than it is to be at sea wishing you were on land!

You can check today’s local forecast at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/forecast/gchtuyxvd

It’s a good idea to check regularly as things often change, even during the course of one day!

If you have a VHF radio with you (more on that later) you can also receive regular weather reports from the Coastguard.

3. Tell someone on shore when and where you’re going and what time you expect to be back.

This is so important and often something that is overlooked. When a family member realises you haven’t returned it’s often quite a few hours later – especially if the person who would miss you is in a different household. The fall of darkness is often the trigger for someone to realise you haven’t returned, which is not a good time for search and rescue operations to begin.

As well as telling your shore contact of your plans, make sure they know who to call if you don’t return – i.e. 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

If you are taking a smart phone with you (carry it in a waterproof pouch) you can use a free app called SafeTRX.

https://www.safetrxapp.com

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/rya-safetrx/id881482157

This app is suitable for all water users and especially those who can’t carry any other means of calling for help – e.g. an open water swimmer could use it on a phone carried in a visibility buoy.

When you start your/trip/paddle/swim the app sends a text message to your designated contacts with a link that enables them to track you. It reminds you to send them a text when you have arrived at your safe point – if they don’t get the text, they are prompted to call you, if they can’t call you, they are prompted to contact the Coastguard who are also able to track you.

Even in the case of total catastrophe where you couldn’t activate a call for help – e.g. a boat sinking, the Coastguard will know where to start a search – much better than initiating a ‘needle in a haystack’ search.

4. Ensure your engine is maintained and correctly serviced and you have more than enough fuel for your plans.

Around half the calls the RNLI gets to boats are due to engine failure, and of those calls, the split between motorboats and sailing boats is about half and half.

To minimise your chances of a breakdown, you should always ensure your engine(s) is serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s schedule.

With regards to fuel, as an absolute minimum, allow a third to get to your destination, a third to get back and a third in reserve. Having more in reserve is never a bad idea.

For self-propelled vessels, this can be translated to ‘make sure you feel well enough and are fit enough to carry out your plans.’

5. Wear a personal floatation device that is appropriate for your activity

Loosely speaking, floatation devices can be divided into buoyancy aids and lifejackets – a buoyancy aid will aid someone who can swim to float but may not necessarily keep them face up.

A lifejacket will keep the wearer face up even if they have lost consciousness, but both a buoyancy aid and a lifejacket will only work properly if correctly worn.

If you enter the water unexpectedly in UK waters you are very likely to suffer from cold water shock which will greatly reduce even the strongest of swimmer’s ability to swim to safety, so the RNLI’s advice is to wear a personal floatation device at ALL times on the water.

Nearly all lifejackets these days are of the inflatable type (for most activities an auto-inflating type is the correct choice) and are very comfortable to wear, so there is no reason to not to!

Generally a buoyancy aid of the correct type and fitted correctly should be used for activities where there is a high expectation of entering the water – paddle boarding, kayaking, jet skiing, water skiing, dinghy sailing etc and lifejackets (again of the correct type and fitted correctly) should be worn for activities when entering the water is not part of the activity – motor boating, cruiser sailing, rowing etc.

It is also important that inflatable lifejackets are correctly maintained to ensure they will work when called on.

Visit: https://rnli.org/safety/lifejackets

6 Carry a means of calling for help

Having a means of calling for help from sea is essential for anyone going on the water, even if you only intended to be a few metres out to sea (bear in mind you might get carried out further than you intend of things go wrong).

The absolute minimum for paddle boarders and kayakers (and also for open water swimmers if you have the type of visibility buoy that can carry a phone) should be a mobile phone in a water proof pouch.

However, bear in mind that phones have a limitation of coverage at sea (although this is getting better all the time) and are also limited in that you can only call people whose number you have – there might be a vessel very close which could help that you wouldn’t be able to call.

If you have a smart phone, you can use the SafeTRX app (see point 3 above)

https://www.safetrxapp.com

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/rya-safetrx/id881482157

The ideal means of calling for help from sea, preferable for all kayaks and should be considered essential for all boats, is a VHF radio. You can make a recognised mayday call that can be heard by all close by VHF equipped vessels as well as of course the Coastguard. Lifeboats and helicopters can also use your VHF to help locate you.

All but the most basic of VHF sets now also have a button which can be pressed for an automatic call for help, which also sends your location.

Other options to consider are distress flares, and the more modern and effective technology of devices such as: Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) designed to be attached to an individual; Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) similar to a PLB but designed for the vessel rather than an individual; and personal AIS (designed for a man overboard to be located by the vessel he or she fell from).

See: https://rnli.org/safety/how-to-call-for-help-at-sea

For more on water safety please visit: https://rnli.org/safety

The lifesaving work of the RNLI relies solely on donations from the public. You can make a donation in a number of different ways at: https://rnli.org/support-us/give-money

CHECK TIDE TIMES BY CLICKING HERE

Photo credit – Nicky Mallen