Yacht towed to safety in gale off Anglesey

The Breaksea Light kept 'disappearing' in to the swell as the lifeboat approached

Holyhead RNLI lifeboat braved gale-force winds and "horrendous" sea conditions to bring a yacht with four people on board back to port.

The skipper of the 33ft boat put out a may day call at 1130 BST on Sunday when he was about three miles west of South Stack lighthouse, Anglesey.

The lifeboat crew had just returned from training when they were tasked with finding and returning the yacht.

Three men man were on board and a teenager celebrating his 13th birthday.

RNLI spokesman Ray Steadman said: "It was horrendous sea conditions.

"At some points the lifeboat could not even see the 33ft boat. In those sea conditions it was disappearing in the swell, although it was not taking water on board.

The Breaksea Light was later safely moored in Holyhead

"The lifeboat was able to spot them fairly rapidly.

"But because of the nature of the weather, it took a lot longer to bring the vessel to Holyhead harbour, where it was heading.

"The crew were very relieved to be on dry land.

"They were invited up to the lifeboat station for warm drinks and to make sure everything was okay. They were very grateful for that."

Mr Steadman said the rescued vessel, the Brakesea Light, was returning to the north west of England after a six-week voyage down to Spain.