THE reason that a 20ft cruiser was discovered adrift in the sea at Colwyn Bay remains a mystery – three days on.
HM Coastguard said it was “reasonably” confident that four men who were aboard the boat, called the Phoenix Hardy, got off safely while police have reiterated they are “satisfied there are no persons missing from the boat”.
But the circumstances, as to why the boat was adrift and abandoned, remains unclear.
A spokesman from North Wales Police said: “We continue to conduct inquiries to understand the circumstances behind the usage of the Phoenix Hardy and its movements prior to being found on the beach in Colwyn Bay.
“We are satisfied that we have identified witnesses who can assist with our inquiries whilst the investigation continues.”
The discovery of the Phoenix Hardy on Saturday sparked a huge search operation.
Llandudno inshore lifeboat Dr Barbara Saunderson launched at 7.20am and met up with the HM Coastguard who were already in attendance.
A spokesman from RNLI Lifeboat Lifeboat said on Saturday: “The cruiser was close to shore and found to be abandoned, at the request of HM Coastguard Holyhead the ILB proceeded to conduct a search in the bay to ascertain whether unknown casualties may have entered the water.
“After an inconclusive search the crew returned to shore to report to the waiting Coastguard and North Wales Police.
“An attempt was made to refloat the cruiser with a plan to tow it to Rhos Marina. However, this was unsuccessful, at which point the ILB was stood down and returned to Llandudno Lifeboat Station.”
The attempt to refloat the cruiser was unsuccessful after the boat got lodged in the sand. About 10 people tried to “budge” the cruiser but to no avail. Eventually, the boat was manually removed; a crane recovered it from the beach.
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The police have thanked the public for their assistance.
They said on Sunday in a statement: “Thank you to all those members of the public that came forward with information regards the circumstances of the ‘Phoenix Hardy’ boat.
“The information provided generated a number of inquiries and we are now satisfied that there are no people that may be missing from the boat.
“Inquiries continue to understand the circumstances that led to the boat being washed ashore.”
Llandudno Lifeboat said its involvement in situation had come to an end.
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