A father has spoken of how his life ‘flashed before his eyes’ after the dinghy in which he and his young daughter were sailing began drifting out to sea near New Quay.

“I had nothing else to give to save myself and I will always live with the fact that I couldn’t save my daughter on my own,” said the father in a heartfelt tribute to the lifeboat crew that saved them.

“Despite being able to swim well enough, I was getting nowhere.

"Your life really does flash before your eyes. I had told [my daughter] that I loved her before I checked out, but it would seem I still held on for a while longer.”

The incident took place at Traeth Gwyn beach in New Quay.

“There was a strong south-easterly offshore wind blowing that day and a father and his daughter were rowing their dinghy when one of the oars snapped,” explained Brett Stone, helm of the New Quay Lifeboat.

“The father tried to tow them ashore, but he got tired very quickly.

"The mother then went out to try and help them and this was when the alarm was raised.”

Realising the potential seriousness of the situation, the Coastguard requested any boats that were in the vicinity to assist them.

First on the scene was one of the dolphin-spotting boats that was sailing close to New Quay.

“The dolphin trip boat managed to keep the father afloat and we were then able to get him on board and begin searching for the other casualties," said Brett.

“But we were then told that the rest of the family had made it safely back to the beach with the dinghy.”

The casualty was then taken back to the main pier where he met the paramedics.

The following day the father returned to the lifeboat station to thank Brett and his crew for their actions.

“I can’t begin to thank everyone enough for what they did that day,” he said. “It was a sobering moment and I’ll be forever grateful to everyone who helped.

“My faith in humanity has definitely been restored as a result of what happened.”

Later that day the New Quay pagers sounded yet again when the crew launched their all-weather Mersey class lifeboat to Aberaeron following a report that two casualties were in difficulty on a paddleboard.

“It’s extremely difficult to see casualties in the water and we were just hoping the paddleboarders had stayed with the board,” said Dan Potter, who is New Quay’s RNLI coxswain.

“We began a search pattern and spotted one of the casualties as she was wearing a buoyancy aid.

“We got her into the lifeboat and she told us that she’d been out with her sister but they had got into difficulty trying to paddle back into the strong winds.

“They’d been at sea for a considerable time - over two hours - and had been shouting for help from the water.  Luckily, a walker on the coastal path had heard them and raised the alarm.”

In the meantime, the sister had made it back to the beach as a result of her buoyancy aid.

“She was quite exhausted and very emotional as it had been a very frightening ordeal,” added Dan.

Following both incidents, Roger Couch, New Quay RNLI’s Lifeboat Operations Manager has stressed the importance of observing safety precautions when entering the water.

“These recent shouts demonstrate the importance of always telling someone where you are going, when you will be returning, and having the right equipment,” he said.

“This means wearing a wetsuit for the cold water temperatures, always having a buoyancy aid and having a means for calling for help such as a mobile phone or hand-held radio.

“And if you're ever in trouble or see someone in difficulty, always call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”