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Sunday morning brought us singing birds and a hot, bright sun beating down on our corner of North West Wales. After covering ourselves in factor 10 sun cream we descended on Aberdaron.
Parking was no problem nor was finding a space on the beach, it looks as though five years of poor summers is having it's toll on the Lynn. |
We chattered, played Boule and wandered into the village where we visited the 'Ship'. Here we sampled their beers and wines while sitting on the balcony overlooking the beach. Eventually the sun slide below the cliff tops and it was time to wend our weary, sunburnt selves back to our waiting vehicles.
| Monday morning made it's appearance in a most lethargic manner and surprise, surprise, it was raining, the first rain they had had in weeks. It poured all night and the wind howled round the cottage. As the day wore on the rain increased in intensity, in fact over 25mm fell in 24 hours. |
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By lunchtime we were stir crazy and left our cottage for Nips. We crossed the first two field but in the third field, as I blipped the accelerator pedal, the Tank arced off to the right causing us to come to a stand still pointing back the way we had come. With traction control and ABS I thought this was not supposed to happen!
On entering Nip's cottage I found I was not the only person suffering from sun burn, almost everyone one had the dreaded red patches to one degree or another. So much for sun tan lotion!
We went in search of the sun. Our vehicles wallowed along the winding twisting lanes while the rain lashed us and great waves broke across our windscreens as we lurched from puddle to puddle.
Our reward for reaching Abersoch was a packet of chips each and a full signal for our mobile phones. Kirsty and Neil Arrive.
Tuesday swept in with bright sunshine and a cold wind. Both Nip and myself climbed on the cottage wall and held our mobiles in the air. We received fleeting signals, but not enough to send a text message never mind a phone call. As Kirsty and Neil's arrival was imminent we had to inform them of our whereabouts. We climbed aboard the Tank and set off in an easterly direction. We drove and drove but it was not until we had driven through Pen-Y-Groeslon and up and over the hill that the magic lines appeared on the screen informing us that contact could now be made. Kirsty informed us they were just passing through Cricceth.
The 'Tank' Stands By As Rescue Helicopter Lands On Aberdaron Beach
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On our arrival at the beach we observed a man sitting on the sand, he was white and shaking, blood was on the sand and his family and friends had gathered around him. Another friend was running to the village to call for help. An hour later John the coast guard, arrived with two colleagues they looked at the wound. |
Something had gone right through the mans foot and was poking up through the top of it. John got onto his walkie talkie and within the hour paramedics arrived on the scene, one relayed the problems on his walkie talkie while his colleague tackled the pain with gas and air, cleaned the wound and put the man's leg into a splint. A surf board was commandeered and the stricken man was layed along it's length. He was carried further along the beach to a wider, more open area where the cliffs were lower.
| Kirsty and Neil arrived as the victim was given an injection for the pain. Half an hour later a large yellow Sea King from 202 squadron, RAF Valley, flew in low across the beach, before disappearing over the cliffs once more. The 'Tank' remained in position, at the top of the hill overlooking Aberdaron. |
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An orange smoke flare was ignited on the beach. Moments later the helicopter reappeared from over the cliffs and hovered above his intended landing spot.
Suddenly every face on the beach turned towards him, they rose, as one and began walking slowly towards it, reminiscent of a scene from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The great yellow machine created a great deal of noise but surprisingly little down draft.
Two crew members ran over to asses the situation, before bringing a bright red stretcher over to the casualty. Once strapped in securely he was carried back to the helicopter. The great side door was pulled shut, the sound from the engines and rotors rose dramatically and the huge helicopter slowly pulled itself free of the sand and up into the air.
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