Episode 3 of 6 Dilyn y Don

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-This year is a noteworthy one

-in the RNLI's history.

-The charity is celebrating

-its 175th anniversary.

-There has been a great emphasis

-on church services.

-The old church at Nefyn

-is now a maritime museum...

-..chronicling the sea's influence

-on the area.

-The thanksgiving service

-is held in the new church.

-It's my pleasant duty to welcome you

-to this unique service.

-Your presence underlines

-your support for the Institution...

-..and for the important work carried

-out by lifeboat crew members...

-..here in Porthdinllaen and around

-the whole of the British Isles.

-We welcome the children

-of Ysgol Nefyn...

-..and thank them again

-for their presence here tonight.

-The Anglican church and the RNLI

-have always been closely linked.

-Local vicars

-often serve as chaplains.

-This underlines

-the charity's status...

-..and the emphasis it places

-on religious services.

-Sir William Hillary established

-the first lifeboat in 1824.

-Since then, 400 RNLI members have

-died while trying to save others.

-It's perhaps surprising

-that this figure is so low.

-Lifeboats around Britain

-answer 18 calls every day.

-The Institution is held

-in great esteem by the public...

-..because of the dangers faced

-by the volunteer lifeboat crews.

-Lifeboats work in tandem

-with Government agencies.

-One might expect RNLI supporters

-to feel disgruntled...

-..at having to raise

-their own money for this work.

-But they feel their independence

-from Government control...

-..is an advantage.

-I feel the Institution works

-best

-under the charity system.

-Things should remain as they are.

-I'm sure lifeboat members

-and the RNLI feel the same.

-Most of them are happy

-to raise money voluntarily.

-We prefer to keep it as it is.

-People work very hard,

-and we appreciate this very much.

-It costs the RNLI 80 million a year

-to maintain the lifeboat service.

-They never charge money

-for saving lives at sea.

-Doing so might well make people

-who are in difficulty...

-..think twice

-before calling for help.

-A lifeboat answers every call,

-at any time, whatever the weather.

-A small boat is in trouble

-near Nant Gwrtheyrn.

-A coastguard saw an empty rowing

-boat drifting towards rocks...

-..and there is concern

-for its owner.

-As the situation could be serious, a

-helicopter has also been called out.

-The lifeboat

-is the first to spot the boat.

-They see someone carrying oars

-on the beach.

-Hopefully, all is well but they

-cannot take anything for granted.

-The helicopter

-will land on the beach...

-..to check

-if this man is the boat's owner.

-Peter and the crew

-remain on stand-by.

-Peter directs the helicopter

-towards the man...

-..and the helicopter pilot

-decides where to land.

-For some reason, the man doesn't

-wish to meet the helicopter crew.

-They get the message

-that all is well.

-The helicopter crew takes over...

-..and the 'Hetty Rampton'

-returns to Porthdinllaen.

-Trouble has been averted

-through cooperation.

-Not all the Porthdinllaen

-crew members...

-..may be comfortable

-with singing hymns in a church.

-But they would never refuse

-the RNLI.

-They know too that most

-of tonight's congregation...

-..have contributed generously

-to the lifeboats.

-There are 2,000 women's branches

-in Britain...

-..and they organise collections

-to finance new developments.

-There have been many changes.

-The new lifeboats can

-roll back up safely if they capsize.

-They have radio

-and satellite navigation.

-They're very sophisticated.

-Our present boat

-has the best possible equipment...

-..and therefore is just the same

-as any of the big ships.

-I'd say Porthdinllaen's future

-is secure.

-Any decisions concerning

-the Porthdinllaen lifeboat...

-..will be made here at Poole.

-We joined Robert Jones,

-Porthdinllaen's second coxswain...

-..and Lieutenant Commander Brian

-Miles, RNLI Director at that time.

-He appreciates the level of

-financial support the RNLI receives.

-The RNLI gets strong support

-even in areas far from the sea.

-Cities like Birmingham are just as

-supportive as Swansea and Cardiff.

-The administrative offices

-are located at Poole.

-The stores and workshops

-are here too.

-Plenty of spare parts and equipment

-must be kept in stock.

-No lifeboat can afford to wait

-for days for new parts.

-The Institution

-has five mobile units...

-..which provide training for crews.

-All lifeboats must be ready

-to be launched at any time.

-This demands a regular stock

-of spare parts.

-New parts can be ordered by phone

-when they're needed.

-They can be delivered anywhere

-by the following day.

-The RNLI itself

-produces a lot of the equipment.

-It's cost-effective and much of

-the equipment is very specialised.

-The Institution

-employs many craftsmen...

-..including boat designers

-and rope makers.

-The Poole workshop

-has a heavy workload.

-The lifeboats' equipment

-is used to the limit.

-Everything must be kept

-in good condition at all times.

-By producing

-their own requirements...

-..the RNLI are not at the mercy

-of outside suppliers.

-Many of these crafts

-are rare these days.

-Something had caught Robert's eye.

-It was this model

-of the 'Charles Henry Ashley'.

-It had been Porthdinllaen's

-lifeboat for 30 years until 1979.

-Robert wants to bring it back

-to Lleyn.

-I'll try and arrange that for you.

-I'll try and arrange that for you.

-

-Thank you.

-Most of the parts and equipment

-are bought in.

-Everything is checked rigorously

-by the technical team...

-..for suitability and safety.

-The RNLI has strict requirements.

-The boats must be able to withstand

-all weathers.

-Equipment

-must be completely reliable...

-..in the worst possible conditions.

-Electronic gadgets must

-function properly at all times.

-For Robert, the Poole storehouse

-is an Aladdin's Cave.

-This is the standard issue now,

-isn't it?

-There are items here which will

-keep Robert warm and dry...

-..and much, much more.

-At any time, his life may depend

-on this equipment.

-He has complete faith

-in his colleagues at Poole.

-

-Porthdinllaen was always

-a busy haven for ships.

-It's on the main route between

-Liverpool and St George's Channel.

-The early ships were sailing ships.

-It was a busy place.

-In one year

-in the mid-eighteenth century...

-..203 ships

-had anchored in this bay.

-They came here

-to shelter from the wind.

-In the foreground is a manor house

-which became the Tanrallt Inn.

-People who had walked miles with

-their carts would call for a pint.

-There's a song which goes...

-.."Porthdinllaen beer

-is both food and drink...

-..I drank it until I reeled

-like a cartwheel!"

-Beyond the manor

-stands a warehouse.

-This is where the 'Dora',

-the first steam ship, brought coal.

-Further on is the first hotel,

-the Whitehall Transit Hotel...

-..built at the start

-of the 18th century.

-People stayed there

-on their way to Dublin.

-There's the Ty Coch Inn

-and the Ty Gwyn Inn.

-Pencei stands at the end of the bay.

-A large smithy stood there.

-It produced metal parts

-for the ships.

-Paul Lewis

-works for the National Trust...

-..to preserve the character

-of the Trust-owned village.

-We were offered Porthdinllaen

-by the Cefnamlwch estate.

-We had to do something about it.

-Money from the Coasts Appeal

-helped us to buy the village.

-If we hadn't, it could have been

-spoiled by tourism.

-The Trust wanted to keep it

-just as it was.

-The Ty Coch is an interesting inn.

-It must be over 300 years old.

-There are many tales about it.

-The best story concerns

-the Ty Coch landlady...

-..who kept the tavern

-between 1870 and 1929.

-Everyone called her

-Mrs Jones Ty Coch.

-She'd had six children

-and three husbands.

-The Ty Coch was a very busy inn at

-that time, visited by many sailors.

-She was the harbour master and the

-'Shipping Gazette' correspondent.

-At the same time,

-she ran a private school here...

-...some kind

-of rural finishing school.

-She was a very accomplished woman.

-This was

-the Customs Officer's house.

-A boat called the 'Revival',

-built in Porthdinllaen...

-..had an evangelist with

-an open Bible as a figurehead!

-It attracted a lot of attention

-everywhere!

-She was wrecked on those rocks.

-She carried many barrels of brandy

-and the locals spotted these.

-They stole the barrels but the

-Customs Officer confiscated them.

-He stored them

-on the first floor of this building.

-Local men broke into the cellar...

-..located the barrels

-on the floor above...

-..and drilled through the floor

-and the barrels' bases!

-There was once a large ship on her

-way to London with a cargo of linen.

-She was wrecked

-but the crew was saved.

-The linen was shared

-between local people, to be washed.

-The captain wrote in praise

-of the people's honesty.

-They had returned all the linen,

-apart from three packs...

-..which he believed had not been

-put on board at the start!

-The Morfa Nefyn golf club

-owns the land above Porthdinllaen.

-Some years ago, the RNLI

-had permission to build a road...

-..across the course

-to reach the boathouse.

-Today, the golfers and the RNLI

-have a good understanding.

-It was not always so.

-Building this road

-caused a rift in the community.

-The RNLI spent a fortune

-in persuading the golf club.

-Gwyn Jones was the lifeboat

-secretary at the time.

-We wanted to make things easier

-for the boys.

-We felt sorry for them...

-..because they had to walk a mile

-from the village, a fair distance.

-Something or other

-always seemed to happen on the way.

-But not everyone

-agreed about the road.

-This was a golf course.

-We realised that.

-But we succeeded with our plans.

-I think it was the right thing.

-We need the club's agreement to do

-maintenance or alterations.

-We have a good relationship with

-the local committees, on the whole.

-I've been Nefyn golf club's

-chief groundsman for 18 years.

-I enjoy the work.

-I was with the lifeboat crew

-when I started.

-It was convenient for the boathouse.

-But work commitments

-meant I had to give up the lifeboat.

-If they were ever short of a crew,

-I'd still go out on the boat.

-The road has certainly made life

-easier for the lifeboat crew.

-Golf club officials and members

-plainly support them.

-The road enables the crew

-to get there more quickly.

-The boys used to have to run

-from the gate near Ty Coch.

-They can now drive

-all the way down to the boathouse.

-Before the road was built...

-..we had to carry huge drums

-of diesel down to the lifeboat.

-Now, the lorry can drive across...

-..and fill up the boat directly.

-Porthdinllaen

-was nearly spoilt at one time.

-There were plans to make it

-the main access port...

-..between Britain and Ireland.

-It was a tough battle, dirty

-at times, that lasted 50 years.

-This was in the early 18th century.

-The Porthdinllaen Harbour Company

-was formed in 1806.

-Its aim was to develop the place...

-..and build hotels,

-jetties and wharves.

-They planned to build

-a large embankment.

-They wanted to create a huge quay...

-..going across to where

-the boathouse stands today.

-That would be the site

-of a deep water basin.

-The harbour at Holyhead

-had a difficult approach.

-The headland at Penmaenmawr and

-crossing the Menai caused problems.

-Over two centuries, 180 people

-drowned while crossing the Menai.

-A ferry overturned on her way

-to Conway and 13 lives were lost.

-Many captains

-had praised Porthdinllaen.

-They thought it was a far better

-natural harbour than Holyhead.

-Holyhead became the main port in

-the north for crossings to Ireland.

-Porthdinllaen was saved from

-the threat of further development.

-The Britannia Bridge

-was completed in 1849.

-This ended Porthdinllaen's role

-as the main port for Dublin.

-Shipbuilding continued here

-for some years...

-..particularly

-between 1840 and 1880...

-..when the last great ship

-was built here.

-It's hard to believe now

-that they built huge schooners here.

-It's important that the RNLI

-and the National Trust work together.

-We want things to continue

-as they are.

-The Trust doesn't want to change

-anything.

-They want to preserve Porthdinllaen.

-The lifeboat is part of its history.

-Subtitles

-by

-Nia Melville, Elidir