Accidents: German yachts in distress - rescue by helicopter for two crews

Last Saturday, the German Bavaria 36 Holiday "Tangaroa" apparently sank a good 60 nautical miles from Brest off the French Atlantic coast. The owner couple, who were on their way back from the Caribbean, published a brief summary of the incident on their Facebook page. It reads:

"Hello everyone! First of all: WE are fine. We were rescued from distress on Saturday. After a blow, we had a massive inrush of water about 60 nm off Brest, which could not be localised and could not be stopped. We therefore had to send out a mayday call and were rescued by helicopter by the Coast Guard. We had to abandon our Tangaroa. We have to assume that she is now lying at the bottom of the Bay of Biscay. We can't understand WHAT, WHY and WHY and now we have to process and clarify it. A huge THANK YOU to all the helpers and rescuers!!!! We'll be in touch again."

The yacht's last AIS position is from 18 June 2022 at 11.45 a.m. off the coast of Brittany.

Abandonment after capsizing

German skipper Ingo P. reports another horror scenario on board. According to a report on his website, his Oceanis 393 Clipper capsized a good 250 nautical miles west of Bermuda at the beginning of June after he and his co-sailor were caught in a heavy storm. The ship lost its mast, most of its deck equipment and took on water.

On his Website he describes the dramatic scenes that apparently took place on board. According to the report, the crew was also eventually picked up by a helicopter crew, in this case the US Coast Guard, and brought ashore.

Safe at sea - prepared for emergencies

Tips and suggestions on how sailing crews can prepare for such worst-case scenarios and act correctly in an emergency can be found in this safety special on YACHT online (click).

A report with suggestions from experienced small cruising crews about their personal safety concept on board will also appear in the next issue of YACHT 15/2022.