A Welsh family have been reunited with Tenby RNLI volunteers who saved their daughter after she was swept a mile out to sea whilst paddleboarding during the summer holidays.
On Thursday, December 5, David, Kiki and Lilly Evans visited Tenby Lifeboat Station to bring festive cheer and thank the volunteers who saved Lilly’s life earlier this year.
It was a summer’s day, Saturday, July 30, when the Evans family headed to Pendine Beach to enjoy the evening.
14-year-old Lilly was paddleboarding in the shallows when the wind picked up and began to blow her out to sea. In a state of panic, her dad David entered the water to try to reach his daughter whilst her mum Kiki called 999 and asked for the Coastguard.
Lilly was swiftly being blown further out to sea, David tried to swim after her but was unable to reach her.
David said: “I was shouting out to her to come back in and she was screaming that she couldn’t. I was in pure panic when I realised I couldn’t get to her. I looked back at my wife, who was on her knees screaming.”
HM Coastguard tasked Tenby RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat to the scene, and the crew located Lilly a mile offshore.
Lilly was helped onboard the lifeboat and checked over before the crew safely returned her to her family who were waiting on the beach.
Kiki, Lilly’s mother said: “When the lifeboat arrived, we couldn’t even see Lilly as she had been blown so far out to sea.
“It was the longest wait of my life, not knowing if Lilly was alive. Somehow, she managed to stay on the paddleboard, I think a few people were looking down on her that day.
“Hearing that the lifeboat crew had her and that she was safe, it was an indescribable feeling.
“Lilly says she couldn’t have held on much longer. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to be reunited with the crew. We can’t thank the RNLI enough for saving Lilly’s life.’
Dan Thomas RNLI Deputy Coxswain at Tenby RNLI said: “We’re all so pleased to see the Evans family before Christmas. At this time of year, it means so much to see the impact our lifesaving work has on families like the Evans.
“If you spot someone in difficulty in the water, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard, just as Lilly’s mother did. That quick action can be the lifesaving difference.
“Without that 999 phone call and our crew launching the lifeboat on July 30, the outcome could have been very different. Thank you to everyone who supports and donates to our lifesaving charity. We can’t save lives without you.”
David will be running both the Newport and London Marathons to raise funds for the RNLI.
His Gofundme page has already received more than £2,000 in donations. It can be found at: https://gofund.me/27de8c2c
To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal
On Thursday, December 5, David, Kiki and Lilly Evans visited Tenby Lifeboat Station to bring festive cheer and thank the volunteers who saved Lilly’s life earlier this year.
It was a summer’s day, Saturday, July 30, when the Evans family headed to Pendine Beach to enjoy the evening.
14-year-old Lilly was paddleboarding in the shallows when the wind picked up and began to blow her out to sea. In a state of panic, her dad David entered the water to try to reach his daughter whilst her mum Kiki called 999 and asked for the Coastguard.
Lilly was swiftly being blown further out to sea, David tried to swim after her but was unable to reach her.
David said: “I was shouting out to her to come back in and she was screaming that she couldn’t. I was in pure panic when I realised I couldn’t get to her. I looked back at my wife, who was on her knees screaming.”
HM Coastguard tasked Tenby RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat to the scene, and the crew located Lilly a mile offshore.
Lilly was helped onboard the lifeboat and checked over before the crew safely returned her to her family who were waiting on the beach.
Kiki, Lilly’s mother said: “When the lifeboat arrived, we couldn’t even see Lilly as she had been blown so far out to sea.
“It was the longest wait of my life, not knowing if Lilly was alive. Somehow, she managed to stay on the paddleboard, I think a few people were looking down on her that day.
“Hearing that the lifeboat crew had her and that she was safe, it was an indescribable feeling.
“Lilly says she couldn’t have held on much longer. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to be reunited with the crew. We can’t thank the RNLI enough for saving Lilly’s life.’
Dan Thomas RNLI Deputy Coxswain at Tenby RNLI said: “We’re all so pleased to see the Evans family before Christmas. At this time of year, it means so much to see the impact our lifesaving work has on families like the Evans.
“If you spot someone in difficulty in the water, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard, just as Lilly’s mother did. That quick action can be the lifesaving difference.
“Without that 999 phone call and our crew launching the lifeboat on July 30, the outcome could have been very different. Thank you to everyone who supports and donates to our lifesaving charity. We can’t save lives without you.”
David will be running both the Newport and London Marathons to raise funds for the RNLI.
His Gofundme page has already received more than £2,000 in donations. It can be found at: https://gofund.me/27de8c2c
To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal
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NewsTranscript
00:00How we doing? Hiya, how's things? Yeah, good thanks. Good to see you again. Good to see
00:17you again. Hiya, alright. Hello. Hiya, lovely to see you again. Thank you, you okay? We're
00:25very good, thank you. Welcome to the station. We would have brought Lily back if we hadn't
00:34dropped her onto the beach. We'd have brought her back here then. If it had been any rougher
00:39then we probably would have come back here. It would have been a bit safer. But as it
00:43was, we managed to get her back to the beach and back to you guys. Come down to say thank
00:48you to you guys anyway. That's okay, we're part of a bigger team. I felt like I didn't
00:55say thank you enough because of the moment and all that. You didn't have to. You'd have
01:00been in shock yourself. The most important thing was getting Lily back to us. Don't ever
01:07think you didn't say thank you enough. We don't do it for that, we just do it to get
01:13people back. That's the most important. Great job. Do you want to have a look on board the
01:19boat? Yeah. Watch your step here guys as you go across. Just be careful here. So when
01:30we got to Lily, we brought her on board the boat down here. Just down by this area here.
01:38It's a little bit lower down here. So we brought Lily on board and in the parking board as
01:43well. And then we walked her up and around the sides and up to where Gary is there and
01:48up into the wheelhouse. You were watching out where she'd gone. Had she gone out of view for
01:53you guys by this point? Yeah, that must have been awful being a parent myself. I mean,
01:59because Keegs was on the phone then to 999 and then the boat obviously stopped for a few minutes
02:04and we could only see the boat. And she was shouting down the phone, is she there? Is she
02:08there? But obviously it took a few minutes for them to say, yeah, she's safe. When it goes wrong,
02:13it always goes wrong in a big way, doesn't it? But like I say, you did the right thing. Your
02:17phone as soon as, you know, because you can see how quickly she went. As soon as he started
02:21swimming out, I was like. You've got memories, love? Yeah. When we brought Lily on board,
02:28we sat her in the seat here. Yeah. And she'd been given one of our jackets and a big blue
02:35blanket has been wrapped around her then to keep her warm. And she's obviously out of the elements.
02:40She's nice and safe in here. That's her chocolate biscuits, isn't it? That's right, yeah. There's a
02:44big box of chocolates here for which you could help yourself to. It was just more for reassurance
02:50then. Because on the way home then we had the five-year-old with us and obviously youngsters,
02:55we were all in shock driving home and the five-year-old was having a tantrum because
02:59she didn't have any chocolate biscuits. Normalised everything. And then as soon as we got home then
03:09we were just all there and the youngest said to the wife, what's for dinner? And you just think,
03:14yeah, yeah, yeah. And having a life jacket on and having maybe a form of communications if
03:23you're on your own, you know. We were saying, you know, she's gone with like her friends or
03:27something and it happens. Yeah, it's just knowing the conditions. Now you know now, don't you?
03:33The wind is blowing away from the beach. It's not a great idea, you know, do something else.
03:37But if it's blowing onshore, you know, just have as much fun as you can because the sea is there
03:43to be used for fun as well, you know. It's not to be scared of, just got to be careful, haven't you?
03:49Treat it with respect and that's it. Then we can all have fun. Yeah, that's right.
03:55Yes, we're just glad you got back. Yeah.
03:59So it was you two on the little boat, was it? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we went on the small boat then
04:06and Gary's on the engine on the helm. Yeah. And then we brought Lily back ashore and then brought
04:11up to you guys. Yeah. Yeah. Let's get a cup of tea. Yeah, that's all.