Cases like this show how hopeless the situation can quickly become once a crew gets into the shallow water zone of a coastline and then may not be able to free themselves from a leeward wall situation. Tips on how to deal with these situations and how to avoid them can be found in the new issue of YACHT 24/2022.
In the case off Warnemünde, passers-by had noticed the distress of the boat, which was around eight and a half metres long, from the sea promenade and alerted the maritime rescue coordination centre operated by the DGzRS. The crew of the rescue cruiser "Arkona" from Warnemünde found the boat already in the surf zone off the beach.
Onlookers prevent the use of line throwing equipment
Neither the rescue cruiser nor the police boat "Uecker" from the Rostock water police station, which had also rushed to the scene, were able to reach the casualty. According to the DGzRS report, a pneumatic line throwing device is normally used in such circumstances to hand over a thin line. A towline can then be attached to this. However, around 150 onlookers had already gathered on the nearby beach, so that the use of the line throwing device could not be risked.
Finally, a sports angler came to the rescue, using his small boat to bring a rescue boat and a towline from the rescue cruiser towards the distressed vessel. About 30 metres from the distressed vessel, it was no longer possible for the pleasure craft to get any closer. Dressed in a survival suit, the sea rescuer climbed into the chest-deep water and brought the towline to the distressed vessel while wading. There he climbed on board and established the towing connection.
In this way, the boat was finally freed from the danger zone to the applause of the beach visitors. In the meantime, the sea rescuer had reported on a VHF handheld radio that one man on board was apparently slightly hypothermic. The other crew members - a man and a woman - were in good health. The rescue cruiser brought the distressed vessel into the harbour. In the meantime, the crew of the police boat requested an ambulance for the hypothermic sailor. In the harbour, the man received medical treatment from the paramedics.
The Rostock Water Police Inspectorate filed a marine casualty report. Further police investigations into the cause will follow.
This is the second stranding on the German Baltic coast within a few days. Last Sunday, a 70-year-old sailor was rescued thanks to the attentiveness of two officers from the water police. The police officers spotted the stranded, unlit shipwrecked vessel on the Peenemünde hook shortly before dark. Together with the sea rescuers from the DGzRS's Greifswalder Oie centre, they pulled the injured and already hypothermic man from his boat.
