BUNGLERS; Trio were `very lucky' to survive.

Byline: ERYL CRUMP

THREE men were rescued from rocks off the North Wales coast yesterday after their boat capsized in a freak accident.

The trio's speedboat was swamped as one of them climbed back on board.

He had bravely struggled to replace a missing bung in the bottom of the boat,as water was flooding into the craft.

A large wave,coupled with the rising water level inside the 17-ft Shakespeare's Swallow,filled the vessel and capsized it.

The three,all in their 30s, were thrown into the water at Abraham's Bosom near Trearddur Bay, Anglesey.

They clung to rocks in the cove but managed to fire off distress flares which were spotted by Caroline Bates who lives at the RSPB reserve on South Stack, and she alerted rescuers.

The three were winched aboard an RAF Sea King helicopter and whisked to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for treatment for minor injuries and hypothermia.

The boat was later towed to Trearddur Bay by lifeboat crews and brought ashore. The trio,all from Rochdale, were believed to have headed home afterwards.

Trearddur Bay lifeboat spokesman Alf Pritchard said: ``They can count themselves very lucky the incident happened close enough to shore that they were able to get to the rock. If it happened further out to sea then perhaps the incident would have been far more serious.

``They would have been in the water longer and more difficult to find for rescuers.''

Mr Pritchard added: ``We understand that the boat's bung was not in place and the boat was taking in water. One of the three men had dived in and succeeded in putting the bung in. ``But as he tried to get back in a combination of his weight, the water in the boat and the heavy outboard engine made it unstable. A large wave then hit the boat,causing it to capsize, throwing all three of them into the water.''

A Holyhead Coastguard spokesman said the 999 call from the RSPB warden sparked the launch of lifeboats from Trearddur Bay and the search and rescue helicopter from RAF Valley.

He said: ``Coastguard shore teams were also alerted. They found the upturned boat in a gully and found the persons on a small, rocky island a short distance offshore.

``The helicopter was used to airlift them off the rocks and flew them to hospital. One had a leg injury and two were suffering from hypothermia.''

The weather at the time of the incident was reported to be poor with a southerly breeze causing the sea to be choppy.

Boating experts last night said forgetting to replace the bung was a common mistake.

One said: ``It's only a couple of inches long in most boats and is usually left out while the boat is on land or being carried on a trailer so that water can drain.

``Putting it back is a pretty basic requirement but is also easy to forget.

``If this boat was travelling at speed then the amount of water being taken on board was quite small and might not have been noticed until the boat was at sea.

``Once the boat slowed or stopped the amount of water taken aboard would have increased substantially and the steps taken to replace the bung was the proper course of action in the circumstances even if that was not without risk.''

Coastguards on patrol at Moelfre assisted a school party after an 11-year- old boy suffered serious leg injuries at lunchtime yesterday.

The boy,from the Manchester area,fell off rocks at Traeth Bychan and was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor for treatment by ambulance.

The Porthdinllaen lifeboat was launched after a boat's engine failed off Trefor pier. Four people were on board the boat which was towed back to harbour.

At 3.20pm,Beaumaris inshore lifeboat, which was acting as a safety boat during the Menai Strait raft race was called to deal with a vessel which was experiencing steering problems in the notorious Swellies.

The lifeboat towed the vessel back to Felinheli.

A Holyhead Coastguard spokeswoman said the vessel was not believed to be taking part in the race.