One of Rhyl’s claims to fame is that in the early sixties, it was the site of the world’s first commercial hovercraft service between Rhyl and Wallasey.
Why anyone would feel the need to go from Rhyl to Wallasey more than once for the novelty is beyond me, but in the early sixties I remember being taken to the West Parade, near the Harbour, to see the beast launch. I remember a terrific roar of the engines and dry sand flying everywhere and then it disappeared in the distance.
The service did not last long and the craft was wrecked when it slipped its moorings in a storm. My cousin Gerald, who was second coxswain on the lifeboat, was part of the crew which attempted to rescue it.
Ambrose Conway 