Rescuers who dashed to the aid of a sinking boat off Skomer Island with 48 passengers onboard have been praised for averting a potential tragedy.

Nearby boats, the RNLI lifeboats from Angle and St Davids, Milford Haven Coastguard, a police RIB boat and an RAF helicopter from Chivenor all dived into action to help passengers on the stricken Lady Helen after she ran into trouble at around 1pm on Saturday (May 25th).

Passengers, including six children and a disabled woman, were left scared and shaken by the ordeal but there were no reported injuries.

First on the scene was former RNLI lifeboat coxswain Brian Dilly of SOAS Safety Boats who heard the call for assistance when the Lady Helen hit rocks.

Brian immediately turned his vessel the Overdale around to see if he and son Alex could help.

"We had them in sight as they called mayday," Brian told the Western Telegraph.

"It was apparent then that the boat was listing heavily so we decided to go straight to the boat and try and get alongside to prevent the listing and get the passengers off."

The Lady Helen was intially stuck on the rock but was then dragged off by her sister boat Dale Princess and began taking on water before reaching the shore.

"It looked really dangerous and people were frightened," said Brian.

"There were kids crying and a few women on there were really upset, there were some older ladies on there that could hardly stand and we had to lift a lady with MS from the police RIB to our boat.

"Everybody was visibly shaken, it could have turned out nasty but luckily everybody came off ok. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time and were there within three minutes.

"It must have been frightening for them - we thought the boat was going to go over and it would have been a very different situation if people had gone into the water."

Bruce and Jen Jones on the Skomer Marine Reserve boat started removing passengers, transferring them to the Overdale, with the help of members of Gower Divers and two university students on board.

The situation was made more dangerous by extremely low tides which left a large number of rocks exposed.

"We went in regardless because we thought the boat was going to tip - there were kids on there, old people and a lady with MS. We got about 18 people on our boat and then the Dale Princess arrived on the scene and pulled him off the rock.

"The police RIB came along then and transferred the rest of the people onto the police RIB," added Brian.

The Lady Helen was taken towards Martin's Haven where she became beached but has now been re-floated and taken to Neyland.

St David's RNLI Coxswain, Dai John, said the rescue was a great team effort, with private boat owners, a police boat, Coastguard Rescue teams from Dale and Broad Haven and a helicopter from RAF Chivenor all responding to the call for help.

He added: "The Lady Helen will have made that trip hundreds if not thousands of times without a problem. The consequences of this incident could have been far more serious and it is fortunate that the situation was resolved without any one being hurt.

"Both the volunteer RNLI lifeboat crews from St Davids and Angle worked well to stabilise the vessel but we are thankful that there were a number of vessels on scene who could evacuate the passengers so quickly."

The incident is now likely to be the subject of a Marine Accident Investigation Branch inquiry.

Passenger thanks rescuers

Holidaymaker Mike Lewis was among the passengers looking forward to day out out Skomer when disaster struck. He told the Western telegraph how the drama unfolded: "My wife Linda, myself and our friend Marie arrived early at the harbour and thought ourselves lucky to get on the 11.15am boat, the Lady Helen, instead of waiting for the 1pm boat.

"There were 48 passengers. As we three were the last aboard, we took out place in the bow area which gave us an excellent vantage point for taking photographs.

"We went through Jack Sound without any problem on the clockwise navigation of the island. But on the return journey through Jack Sound, we hit a submerged rock.

"These boats do this journey every day and our trip had to be the disastrous one.

"It was a very near call. When the boat struck it was lifted out of the water and it spun around 180 degrees in the current. Then it was rocking from side to side on the rock! Another six inches and the water would have flooded the boat and tipped it over.

"The boat was holed but held up by the rock at that time. The front was low in the water and the stern up in the air. The current was very strong and turbulent at that point, being in Jack Sound which is a narrow strip of sea between the island and the mainland. If we had been tipped in we would have been taken under and out to sea.

"There was no panic on the boat. Everyone realised that the boat was balancing on the rock and that a mass movement could tip it further and into the water.

"It was ten minutes before lifebelts were issued.

"In very difficult circumstances, an inflatable of the Skomer Marine Reserve was able to come alongside and take off the children in two trips to a larger scuba diving boat, the Over Dale.

"A sister passenger boat, Dale Princess, then came up and pushed the Lady Helen off the rock. It was then able to make progress towards the harbour, but it was also sinking!

"Fortunately a police sea patrol inflatable was in the vicinity and turned up in time to take off the rest of the passengers and transfer them to the diving boat. A relief all round!

"The Lady Helen was towed to the harbour (engines now flooded) and just made it to beach with water lapping the deck.

"We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all who took part in the rescue."