The sailor contacted MRCC Bremen at around 4 o'clock in the morning: Due to a broken rudder, he was adrift on the Baltic Sea with his approximately eight and a half metre long sailing yacht, unable to manoeuvre. At the time, he was about four and a half nautical miles west of the island of Fehmarn.
Strong winds and high waves
Despite a deployed drift anchor, the strong south-westerly wind of force six to seven pushed the stricken vessel inexorably towards the busy east-west shipping lane that runs through the Fehmarn Belt: a dangerous situation both for the single-handed sailor and for other shipping traffic.
Shortly after the distress call, the volunteer sea rescuers from the Fehmarn rescue centre set sail with the "Romy Frank" from the ferry port of Puttgarden on the north coast of the island and set course for the distressed vessel. In rough seas with waves up to one and a half metres high, they carefully approached the unmanoeuvrable yacht. Despite the adverse conditions, they managed to establish a towing connection. They then brought the man and his boat safely into the harbour.
What to do if a rudder breaks? A test under realistic conditions
It rarely happens, but when the rudder blade of a yacht breaks or the rudder system fails due to other damage, it poses a major challenge for most crews. Some time ago, the YACHT editorial team realistically simulated exactly this scenario.
A Bavaria 40 Cruiser, whose rudder blade had previously been dismantled, was taken out to sea. There, various techniques and tactics were tested that can be used to reach the next harbour if the rudder is lost. The YACHT TV video shows which of them work and which don't.
Video on YACHT-TV: How to rig an emergency rudder
The corresponding article with a detailed emergency guide, numerous tips on prevention, various scenarios and useful checklists is available at here (just click on it): What to do if you lose your rudder.
