Distress at sea: Sailing cutter suffers engine failure and takes on water in the North Sea

On Tuesday 20 October 2026, sea rescue crews from the Deutsche Bucht/Helgoland and Cuxhaven stations rescued a skipper and his historic sailing cutter from a precarious situation. The 14.5-metre-long vessel had suffered a total engine failure in the North Sea and was also taking on water.

The skipper was planning to sail the former fishing cutter ketch, built in 1938, from Föhr to Hamburg. At around 5 pm, approximately 15 nautical miles off the mainland, the engine failed completely. The skipper then contacted the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Bremen, operated by the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS).

The “Hermann Marwede” reaches the stricken vessel after 20 minutes

The sea rescue cruiser “Hermann Marwede” Following a supply run to Cuxhaven, it was on its way back to its station on Heligoland and was in the same area of the sea at the time. The rescue team therefore reached the vessel in distress just 20 minutes after the alarm was raised. They established a tow line.

As the historic sailing ship had already taken on a little water, several bilge pumps powered by an emergency power supply were running on board. However, after about two hours of being towed towards Cuxhaven, the situation worsened: two of the three pumps failed. Within a short space of time, the water rose to the floorboards.

An additional pump keeps water ingress under control

The crew of the ‘Hermann Marwede’ then launched their tender, the ‘Verena’. The sea rescue team handed the skipper a powerful bilge pump, complete with a cable for the power supply. Using an additional line connection, the support boat also assisted in steering the sailboat, which was unable to manoeuvre.

At around 7.20 pm, the auxiliary vessel of the sea-rescue cruiser “Anneliese Kramer”, based in Cuxhaven, took over the gaff-rigged yacht from the “Hermann Marwede”. Together, the two subsidiary boats brought the vessel to Cuxhaven marina and moored it securely there.

Conditions in the North Sea were challenging: during the operation, the wind reached up to seven on the Beaufort scale. The waves reached heights of up to three metres at times.

Series of maritime emergencies in the operational area off Heligoland

The latest maritime emergency was preceded in recent months by several operations in the waters around Heligoland: on 18 September, the rescue services rescued a person in winds of force 6 on the Beaufort scale and waves around three metres high a sailor suffering from severe hypothermia and weakened by seasickness from a yacht. In August, the Bavaria 36 ‘Soggy Dollar’ following an engine failure towed into the harbour by the ‘Verena’ some three nautical miles off the island. Back in June, a Sailing boat collides with the museum lightvessel ‘Elbe 1’, during which his mast broke; here too, the sea rescue service brought the damaged boat safely to Heligoland.

The guide explains how to prepare for a potential water leak and what to do in an emergency. Practical tip: ‘First aid for leaks at sea’.