ON RNLI HEROES
Denwyn, who teaches construction at Coleg Menai when she is not volunteering, also runs a local coffee shop.
She said: “One minute you’re serving coffee, the next you’re saving lives.
“I love being at sea – it’s the privacy of it. It’s just such a relaxing place to be.
“But it’s a shame a lot of people in this country don’t know about water.
“I like being on hand for those who need help.”
But Denwyn gets frustrated at the ignorance of those who put their lives, and other people’s lives, at risk.
One memorable incident for her was when a man was in a dinghy two miles from shore with his six and eight-year-old daughters.
She said: “He was paddling out with his flip-flops. We said we’d take him back in but he said he would walk. I said: ‘Who do you think you are? Jesus?’ “He was blind. “His daughters were telling him to turn left and right but the wind got hold of them and they couldn’t handle it.”
This summer is set to be Denwyn’s last as offshore crew but she hopes to stay a volunteer for another 10 years.
She said: “I’ll be retiring this sum- mer, so that’s sad. I’ve driven it for 18 years. But it hurts now!” SIMON EMMS, 40, PORTHCAWL RNLI
Simon joined the Porthcawl station because he wanted to do his bit to help.
Working full-time at a wastemanagement company, Simon said it can be odd to switch between different jobs.
He said: “You can’t really compare the two. You go from a normal working life to what can be quite difficult circumstances in a relatively short time.
“It can be quite a shock to the system. It’s not a nine to five job. But we still have routine.”
Simon said the part he enjoyed most, apart from saving lives, was the friends he had made.
He said: “I wanted to help people – that is the most important part.
“But also I’ve got really close friends, which makes it even more appealing. You form quite a close bond with people for quite obvious reasons.”
Originally from Bridgend, he said moving to Porthcawl made him want to prevent tragedies at sea.
He said: “We have a lot of visitors and we have seen tragedies and lives lost. It’s doing my bit to reduce the chances of that happening.”
Now Simon, Denwyn and Chris are set to star on the small screen in a new documentary series on BBC Two.
The 12-part programme will feature real rescues carried out by the charity’s lifeboat crews and lifeguards around the UK and Ireland.
Some of the episodes will feature lifeboat crew volunteers from Moelfre, Anglesey, rescuing a dog which plunged 130ft down a cliff, and Porthcawl lifeboat crews rescuing a horse rider who suffered nasty injuries after falling on a remote beach, with more Welsh rescues set to air later in the year.
The first episode, being shown on Wednesday, will include a dramatic rescue of 30 people from a sinking tall ship, a father and daughter being pulled from the sea after being swept from rocks, and the recovery of a selfie-taker who had fallen into the Thames.
Saving Lives at Sea will be broadcast weekly from Wednesday (August 16) to Wednesday, November 1, on BBC Two at 8pm