A big thank you to all who braved the gales and driving rain and came along to our annual New Year’s Day Dip at the foreshore. It was a bit of a mud run with the tide fully out but great fun as usual.
Below is a picture of the brave fools who went in again this year, wearing lederhosen in honour of our newest Coxswain. Thanks everyone!
Happy New Year!… I know it’s a bit late but as usual we’re all tied up taking care of various things and unfortunately the website doesn’t always get the love it deserves.
The crew are very pleased to announce only seven call outs in 2013 despite all the good weather we had. Sadly many of the call outs we did have were quite serious and we’re pleased that nobody came to any serious harm. Please keep an eye on tides and weather before you venture out near the water.
We have been planning activities for the year and we can now announce that the annual Welsh Open Water Estuary Swim will be held on the 21st June 2014. it’s a little earlier than the usual August date but this is to ensure that the tide will be right. As always, swimmers’ safety is paramount. There’s more information about the event in the dedicated page – just click on the sidebar.
Yes it’s that time of year again. This year we wanted to go back to having a real ‘show’ for everybody to enjoy so we are pleased to announce that we have Rod Stevens – The UK’s premier comedy stage hypnotist performing this year.
As usual the ticket price includes free food courtesy of the Three Rivers Hotel and Spa.
In addition to Rod Stevens we have DJ Gar and MC Tony Bean.
Tickets only £5 – an absolute steal considering the entertainment and food included. Doors open at 7pm.
Saturday November 2nd.
Tickets available from Lifeboat Crew, on the door (if not sold out) or we hope to have them in the Ferry Cabin, Steve’s Shop and Post Office soon…
Here’s a link to an excellent article in H2OpenWater magazine about the 2013 Welsh Open Water Estuary Swim
Here are the unofficial times for the Welsh Open Water Estuary Swim 2013.
Your time will be printed under your picture below. If you are a leisure swimmer who started 2 minutes later than the club swimmers then remember to deduct 2 minutes from the time printed.
Here’s a link to articles in the news about recent call outs:
We are just finalising the photos from the day and the unofficial times of swimmers. We hope to be able to have everything ready by the end of the weekend and we promise that we will have news up on the website as soon as possible. Photos also coming soon.
The swim was a huge success. A bug Thank You to all who took part either in entering the swim or in the organisation of the event. It is an event that grows each year and we owe an especially big Thank You to James Littlejohns who has tirelessly organised this successful event anually.
Also keep a look out as we hope to move the Welsh open Water Estuary Swim to its own website very soon.
Just a small update on the Welsh open Water Estuary Swim. Some additional details can be found on the ThisIsWales website here:
and on openwaterswimming.com here:
http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2013/04/ferryside-lifeboat-launches-welsh-open.html
History of the Garden Crawl
The first garden crawl was in June 1989. It was started by the late Bunny Kessell, of Hall Terrace, with a logo of poppies painted in watercolours by the late Dr. Ruth Kemp of Pontantwn, a logo still used to this day. In that first year there were just seven gardens, but they tended to be the larger and more mature ones. Programmes and posters were hand written by Bunny, photocopied and delivered around the area by a conscripted Bean obeying orders. Bunny ran it for some years and retained a watching brief even when allowing her protégé to do the donkey work.
Over the last 25 years (1989 – 2013) there have been more than 50 gardens that have offered themselves for viewing, and in one year alone there were 24 gardens open. Just once we had to cancel due to the foot and mouth epidemic when four of our venues involved working farms.
Thank to villagers and visitors thousands of pounds has been raised for the lifeboat, although in one year the proceeds went towards developing the children’s play park.
We also owe a debt of gratitude to Nerys, and the late, Dave Pearson of Whitethorn Nurseries for many years of sponsorship; and lattely to John and Josie Cavill of the Three Rivers Hotel for their continuing sponsorship to the present.
Recently some gardeners have set up various stalls to increase fundraising and to create more of an attraction, and the Ferryside Jazz Band have provided “entertainment” for a number of years.
We at Ferryside Lifeboat thank all who have supported this worthy cause over the last 25 years. Here’s to the next…
Here’s a new video carefully crafted by Senior Coxswain Anthony Rees. Some footage taken during last Wednesday’s training session in beautiful sunny Ferryside.
Remember training sessions are at 7pm every Wednesday at the Lifeboat Station. There are weekend training sessions – times subject to tides.
Sunday 5th May saw the annual Ferryside Strongman competition. Luckily the weather was good this year and we saw a strong turn out in the crowd. Six strong men entered altogether and cheered by the crowd they ploughed through the six events. The day was a huge success and raised over £300 for the lifeboat. Congratulations to Richard Holmes of Cynwyl Elfed who proved to be the strongest man. Not only did he win the competition but he also donated his prize money to the Ferryside Lifeboat. Many thanks Richard for this kind gesture.
Photographs below:
The good weather finally seems to have come to this part of West Wales and the Ferryside Lifeboat crew are pleased to announce that we have not yet been called out this year. Despite this we please ask you to check the weather and tide tables before you venture out on the sea or for a walk along the sands. they can both be checked form this website at any time.
As the Summer approaches we will be arranging more fundraising opportunities that offer a chance for everyone to get involved and have a fun day out. The Strongman competition is coming up next this weekend. We also have some particularly notable events with the 25th Annual Garden Crawl this year. As it’s a special occasion there will be extra attractions on display so watch this space. We are also pleased to announce that we are hosting the Welsh Open Water Estuary Challenge, the only one of its kind in Wales, possibly the UK. We will keep updating the website as other events are arranged.
Next up we hope to give you the details for this year’s GlastonFferi event.
The annual Strong Man competition is happening again this weekend in Ferryside. This year there’s more prize money so we should be seeing a few more strong men entering.
It’s all happening at the Ferryside Sports and Social Club on Sunday 5th May at 4pm.
Prize money so far should be at least £150 for first prize, there will be second and third prizes available.
Thank you to the kind benefactors who have put up the prize money this year.
As usual the Ferryside Lifeboat will be fielding strong men of their own. This year though there will be a bit of a difference! Come along and find out.
As usual, many thanks to Jacko from the club for arranging this and offering continued support to the lifeboat.
We are pleased to announce that the annual New Years Day Dip is going from strength to strength. A big thank you to all the new faces who turned up this year as well as all the regular supporters of the lifeboat.
It was a very cold day and a longer run to the sea this year but that didn’t stop a number of brave and foolhardy souls from jumping in. We are still waiting for more pictures to come in but to see a short video of the action just click here.
Also a big thank you to the River Towy Yacht Club for allowing the event to run in front of the premises and for being so hospitable on the day.
It’s nearly Christmas and it’s time to advertise the annual New Years Day Dip. We are especially pleased to note the cold weather at the moment so it looks like this year is going to be a very cold dip.
As usual you can expect some of the crew members to be dressed up and probably not looking their finest.
Please come along and join in the fun. It’s 12.00 sharp, at the Foreshore in Ferryside, outside the Lifeboat Station.
We promise Andy won’t wear his mankini….
