It could have been a beautiful, extended sailing weekend - but several crews on the North Sea and on the IJsselmeer were dependent on help on the first weekend in October.
Accumulated involuntarily
On Friday, 4 October, a yacht ran aground in the mudflats between Langeoog and Bensersiel about 1.5 nautical miles off the Langeoog harbour when the water was running out and a strong easterly wind of 6 to 7 Beaufort was blowing. The crew of two were unable to free their boat.
Strong winds pushed it further and further onto the sandbank, so that the sailors made an emergency call on the radio shortly before 7 pm. They feared that the wind force and corresponding swell would cause the boat to spring a leak the next time it hit the water.
However, the water had already drained too far for the rescue boat to manoeuvre close enough to the stranded vessel. The rescue crew therefore used a line launcher to shoot the heaving and towing line to the distressed vessel. Despite the low water level, the yacht was still able to be towed free and make port with a scare.
Mast breakage on the IJsselmeer
Also on Friday afternoon, according to the Dutch maritime rescue organisation KNRM, a 13-metre-long yacht lost its mast on the IJsselmeer. The accident occurred between Stavoren and Enkhuizen.
There were four adults and four children on board who were not injured and were able to transfer to a lifeboat. However, attempts to bring the boat and the broken mast, which was half on deck and half hanging in the water, to the nearest harbour failed. The mast was therefore completely cut, marked and sunk so that it could be salvaged later.
It was the second mast breakage on the IJsselmeer within a week. Last Saturday, a French crew on a charter yacht lost its mast. Fortunately, the crew was also uninjured.
Seriously injured on board
On Wednesday evening, 2 October, the skipper of a yacht about ten nautical miles north of the island of Norderney radioed Pan-Pan. In north-westerly winds of around 6 Beaufort, gusting up to 8 Beaufort, with heavy seas and wave heights of between two and three metres, one of the crew had suffered serious injuries below deck on the yacht, which was around eleven metres long.
An emergency paramedic took over the medical radio counselling of the skipper, and a rescue cruiser and a rescue helicopter also set course for the yacht. However, due to the weather conditions - the yacht was now in the sea off the island - it was not possible to pick up the injured man at sea.
The skipper was finally able to bring the yacht into the harbour of Norderney under his own power, from where the injured crew member was taken to hospital.
