The setting sunset led to to a report being made to the fire brigade from someone who believed they saw a yacht on fire. The response to the report was described as a "wild goose chase".
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service received a call from a member of the public at around 8pm on Friday who claimed there was an incident near Bangor Pier. A spokesman said: "They thought a boat was on fire."
A fire crew and a fire officer attended the scene and HM Coastguards were alerted. They sent two-land based coastguard teams, North Wales Live reported.
