Emergency at sea: The two Germans missing off Mallorca are dead

Update 19.9.23

The two German sailors, a 53-year-old father and his 19-year-old son from Hesse, had gone missing after the severe storm on Mallorca and Menorca. They wanted to sail the 50 nautical miles from Cala Galdana in the south of Menorca to Cala d'Or on the east coast of Mallorca. They had been missing since 27 August, and at the beginning of September two bodies were recovered by rescue teams on the coast of Mallorca. However, due to their condition, it was initially not possible to identify them. DNA analyses have now confirmed that they are the two missing sailors. It is not known why they set off on the trip despite the storm warning.

Article from 29.8.23

It was supposed to be windy, as the weather forecast had predicted. However, the extent of the storm that hit the Balearic Islands last Sunday caught many sailors and holidaymakers unprepared.

Torrential rain caused the holiday islands of the Balearics to completely submerge within minutes. In half an hour, twice as much rain fell from the sky on Mallorca as the average for the whole month. Hotel roofs flew off and even a cruise ship broke free in the storm. The Spanish emergency services registered more than 230 emergencies on Sunday.

Many sailors were also surprised by the extent of the storm. Alina and Thilo Thum were moored with their Moody 38 CC "Strawanza" in the southern buoy field of Port d'Andratx in the west of Mallorca when the sky darkened shortly before 11 o'clock on Sunday morning. "It was really violent," says Thilo Thum, describing the experience, "We measured winds of up to 56 knots. A video went viral in a hotel next to us when their chairs flew away, which was 200 metres away from us." On their Instagram page the couple posted numerous impressive pictures of the storm's passage. Their boat escaped without damage, but a neighbouring catamaran was less fortunate when a large motorboat drifted into the multihull.

"There is now a lot of discussion in the sailing groups about whether the storm was forecast or not," says Thilo Thum. Many crews were clearly unprepared. "I think the problem is that many only check the wind apps, but don't keep an eye on the actual weather developments," says Thum. The pair have been on an Atlantic tour since last autumn and here, on the final spurt to the destination port, they experienced the strongest winds of the entire trip. "As a long-distance sailor, you're always asked whether you're not afraid of storms on the Atlantic," says Thum, "but a lot more can break in anchor bays like this. If the motorboat had hit us, the trip would have been over."

A few bays further south-east, Martin Bauers experienced a similar storm on his Lagoon 380 at anchor. "The wind gauge was showing up to 62 knots," says the charter skipper, who has been experiencing this all summer with his Catamaran "Jona" drives day trips here. "In three years, I've never experienced anything like this before," he says. It was as if a white wall was coming over him, blocking his view. Bauer's anchor suddenly slipped in the strong wind and the boat drifted further and further towards the shore. "The moment I realised that the anchor was slipping was scary. Three boats were already on the beach behind me." Bauers quickly dropped his second anchor into the water and hoped fervently that the boat would come to a halt. "Fortunately, about 20 or 30 metres off the beach, the anchors found a hold again and we were safe," he says.

But not all sailors around the archipelago got off so lightly. The Spanish sea rescue service has been searching for a German crew of the 32-foot yacht "Makan Angin" since Sunday. The 53-year-old father and his 19-year-old son wanted to sail the 50 nautical miles from Cala Galdana in the south of Menorca to Cala d'Or on the east coast of Mallorca on Sunday. The crew was apparently caught out by the bad weather.

Three helicopters from the Spanish sea rescue service, the Guardia Civil and the Spanish air force are currently involved in the search, as well as several ships. It is unclear why the crew set sail despite the severe weather warning issued by the Spanish authorities.