Melwin Fink's new Mini: Probably a total loss after an accident: "The pictures of the boat were shocking!"

Around five days after Melwin Fink and Marc Menzebach's mast broke and they were rescued by the Mallorcan sea rescue service from Mallorca, the new Vector Mini, which had been abandoned at sea, has reappeared. The bad news: it is likely to be a total loss after running aground on a stone beach by a private villa near Port des Canonge in the north-west of Mallorca. The good news is that a new boat is already in sight for Melwin Fink despite the bitter setback.

On the night of 1 to 2 April, skipper Melwin Fink and his co-sailor Marc Menzebach were on board Fink's new Mini on a ferry trip from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca. Around 30 nautical miles off Palma, the mast of the Vector Mini, which had been customised by Fink and a colleague over two months, broke. In rough conditions and without an engine, the sailing duo were rescued by an experienced helicopter crew from the MRCC Palma de Mallorca. As the weather and swell initially prevented an immediate search and rescue, the rescued couple could only watch and wait ashore. On Tuesday, Fink's new building was finally spotted. However, the news dashed his hopes of a comeback for the new Mini that he had worked so hard on. Fink explains: "The boat ran aground near Port des Canonge on Cala Gata in the north-west of the island of Mallorca. It is now lying on the beach without a keel and without rudder blades. That's pretty tough, because I wasn't expecting it at all. Well, I did expect it, but in my head it wasn't really an option. I hoped that the boat would simply drift out and then be found at some point. Now it's completely destroyed on the beach; the keel and rudder blades are gone."

So far, at first glance, observers and those affected agree: this is an obvious total loss. The surveyor from insurer Pantaenius has already been on site, but his report is still pending. A private salvage company is to take care of the removal. "They are trying to tow the boat away today or tomorrow, depending on the sea conditions," explains Melwin Fink. He adds thoughtfully: "It's pretty tough. I think I'll go there in the next few days. All the private stuff on board is still there. That's a good thing. Only my laptop got fried, or rather, flushed. But you can cope with that. Still, the pictures of the boat were shocking. It's quite a mess!" According to Fink, it could have turned out even worse: "We have a few holes, but the boat is very, very well built. The damage has little to do with the boat. There are two components: the boat and the mast. Everything to do with the boat held up. And the boat was a super safe place for us that night. In other words, we always felt safe in the boat once the mast was gone and we no longer had to worry about it knocking a hole in the boat. You have to separate it out a bit so that the Vector isn't the problem. But the problem is not currently known. You can't apportion blame, and it's not the right time to do so."

What will happen in the event of an officially confirmed total loss for Melwin Fink? The young skipper has already held talks with the shipyard. His prospects of soon finding a replacement for the new boat for the second Mini-Transat campaign are not entirely bad. "Maybe," says Fink, "we can transfer some of the old boat to the new one. That's my hope. The boat builder is ready. Let's see how we handle it all. For now, I'm in Bad Salzuflen. I have a lot to do to sort it all out somehow. I'll do everything I can to get back on the water as soon as possible. Thank you for all the encouragement and messages. I was very happy about that, because it's a tough time." Here Melwin Fink himself comments on the events (please click!).