We had a lazy morning and then after lunch we went for a short walk around the peninsular to West Angle Bay. As we 
approached the lifeboat station I noticed that the lifeboat was part way down the slipway. We had been told by the regular campers that the lifeboat station welcomed visitors so we decided to take a look. The were a lot of cars parked around the station and when we opened the door we found the winchman at the winch with headphones on. It took a while to attract his attention but he then told us that they were doing slipway trials and we were welcome to view them from the crew room. We climbed the stairs next to the stern of the lifeboat and with a view down the slipway to the sea. The crew stood on the boat waiting for the launch. Up in the crew room we met a woman who was also watching the proceedings and quickly discovered that she was the wife of the new coxswain that is due to move from his Peterborough station to Angle in the next few months. She explained that there were some problems with the lifeboat on the slipway and her husband wanted to be present for the trials. The theory was that there was insufficient lubrication on the slipway especially when the lifeboat was being hauled back up the slipway.
The lifeboat was then launched and we were able to watch from directly above as the boat gathered momentum and then hit the water causing a large bow wave. It was a very impressive sight and it was great to be able to witness it from that position. After a short interval, a temporary pump was installed to increase the flow of water down the centre of the slipway and the lifeboat was brought into position at the bottom of the slipway. Lots of important people from RNLI headquarters in Poole buzzed around the slipway watching carefully as the boat was winched up. It was obvious that the progress of the boat was slightly jerky but it was, we were told, much better than before when the whole building shook and vibrated.
With the lifeboat safely back in the station we said our goodbyes and thanked the winchman for letting us see the trials. The first and probably the only time we will ever see a slipway launch of a lifeboat.
We continued the walk around the peninsular and at West Angle Bay we went to find the archaeologists at the cemetery dig. They had just talked to another local family and mentioned the flint finds and the fact that they had been told about flint deposits further into the haven. The local man immediately suggested that this was ballast. He explained that at that end of the haven they often find non-indigenous stone as this had been brought in as ballast by ships and then thrown onto the shore before they loaded their cargo. I had heard of this before and was annoyed that I hadn't thought about it when the flint was first mentioned but then neither had the archaeologists! They were simply grateful that they had been told about the ballast before they went back to the office talking about a hitherto unknown flint deposit in Pembrokeshire!
Photos: Launching the Angle lifeboat 'Mark Mason'; The problem must be down there somewhere!; Looking for an enclosure bank and ditch.
approached the lifeboat station I noticed that the lifeboat was part way down the slipway. We had been told by the regular campers that the lifeboat station welcomed visitors so we decided to take a look. The were a lot of cars parked around the station and when we opened the door we found the winchman at the winch with headphones on. It took a while to attract his attention but he then told us that they were doing slipway trials and we were welcome to view them from the crew room. We climbed the stairs next to the stern of the lifeboat and with a view down the slipway to the sea. The crew stood on the boat waiting for the launch. Up in the crew room we met a woman who was also watching the proceedings and quickly discovered that she was the wife of the new coxswain that is due to move from his Peterborough station to Angle in the next few months. She explained that there were some problems with the lifeboat on the slipway and her husband wanted to be present for the trials. The theory was that there was insufficient lubrication on the slipway especially when the lifeboat was being hauled back up the slipway.The lifeboat was then launched and we were able to watch from directly above as the boat gathered momentum and then hit the water causing a large bow wave. It was a very impressive sight and it was great to be able to witness it from that position. After a short interval, a temporary pump was installed to increase the flow of water down the centre of the slipway and the lifeboat was brought into position at the bottom of the slipway. Lots of important people from RNLI headquarters in Poole buzzed around the slipway watching carefully as the boat was winched up. It was obvious that the progress of the boat was slightly jerky but it was, we were told, much better than before when the whole building shook and vibrated.
With the lifeboat safely back in the station we said our goodbyes and thanked the winchman for letting us see the trials. The first and probably the only time we will ever see a slipway launch of a lifeboat.
We continued the walk around the peninsular and at West Angle Bay we went to find the archaeologists at the cemetery dig. They had just talked to another local family and mentioned the flint finds and the fact that they had been told about flint deposits further into the haven. The local man immediately suggested that this was ballast. He explained that at that end of the haven they often find non-indigenous stone as this had been brought in as ballast by ships and then thrown onto the shore before they loaded their cargo. I had heard of this before and was annoyed that I hadn't thought about it when the flint was first mentioned but then neither had the archaeologists! They were simply grateful that they had been told about the ballast before they went back to the office talking about a hitherto unknown flint deposit in Pembrokeshire!
Photos: Launching the Angle lifeboat 'Mark Mason'; The problem must be down there somewhere!; Looking for an enclosure bank and ditch.
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