The alarm was received by the Swedish Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) on 5 October at 21:30: "Sailing boat aground in the harbour entrance in Grönhögen". Shortly afterwards, the two rescue cruisers "PG Traung" and "Stig Wadström", stationed 12 nautical miles away in Bergkvara, set sail. At the time, the wind was blowing from the southwest at a good six Beaufort, which, according to the sea rescuers, caused a wave of a good one and a half metres in the southern exit of the Kalmar Sound. On arrival in Grönhögen, the yacht was already moored on the harbour pier and the crew had been evacuated by the local rescue services. In view of the heavy swell, it was no longer possible to salvage the shipwrecked vessel from the sea and the two lifeboats made their way home.
Accident in the harbour entrance: grounded in the wave trough
Apparently, the Beneteau's draught was its undoing. According to reports, the waves outside the harbour were up to three metres high. The crew headed for the harbour exactly in the marked fairway. Despite this, the boat grounded hard just before entering the harbour, ran out of rudder and was pushed onto the pier by the sternward-approaching sea. The keel of the Oceanis 40.1 is up to 2.27 metres deep, depending on the version, while the harbour entrance is four metres deep according to official figures.
The salvage
After the wind died down, the wreck of the "Passion" was towed into the harbour and lifted ashore with a mobile crane. Only then did it become clear how severe the damage was. The underwater hull and large parts of the interior fittings of the relatively new boat are completely missing. They were obviously crushed on the harbour mole during the accident. Individual assemblies, such as the forward wet cell, are still hanging by their hoses and dangling under the boat. The hull-deck connection around the transom is broken.
