THE teenage captain of a Milford Haven fishing boat that sank off the coast of north Wales has said keeping calm is what helped save his life, and that of three other men.

Sixteen-year-old skipper Jake Bowman-Davies, from Neyland, was woken by crew members on Thursday night (February 12) who said the crabber Cesca was taking on water.

“I went to check and there was lots of water," said Jake, who took over as skipper on the vessel just before Christmas.

While alarms sounded throughout the 15-metre vessel, Jake and his crew tried for two hours to pump the water out, while simultaneously updating coastguards with the boat’s speed and position.

But as the situation worsened, Jake had to make the decision to abandon the vessel.

“It just got too much, and the water wasn’t going anywhere,” he said.

“It just kept on coming in, and then we had engine failure because it had got wet.

“At that point I was worried we were going to sink.”

Within 20 minutes, an RAF search and rescue helicopter was at the scene, and the four men were winched to safety.

It was then Jake saw for the first time the precarious position the boat had been in.

“I was horrible, the worst bit, you could see that it was on fire, all smoking,” he said.

“It looked worst when you were off it, it was on its side and I just thought I was so lucky.”

The boat could not be saved, but its owner - Jake's dad Tim - was full of praise for his son’s brave actions.

“He handled himself superbly, and got them all off safely,” said Tim, 42.

“We’ve lost the boat, but we can replace that. I can’t replace him.”

Asked how he kept his cool despite the worsening situation, Jake said: “I just knew if I kept calm it would be better.

“You realise what you’re doing and what they’ve told you in training just kicks in.”

 “Everyone else was panicking, they just fell to bits, but the calmer you keep the easier it is.”

HM Coastguard's Robert Bowyer said:“It’s often a difficult judgement call for any Captain to call for assistance and even more difficult to leave his vessel, which is his livelihood.

"By calling for assistance when he did the Captain of the ‘Cesca’ gave the rescue services time to get on scene and try and save his vessel."

  • See much more on Jake's amazing story in this week's Western Telegraph, out Wednesday.