The most important clarification from race director Michael Aldag is: "There were no personal injuries." Several boats had to be assisted and two sailors were taken to hospital as a precaution. However, no one was seriously injured. They were back in Glückstadt by the evening.
Aldag also emphasises that the race management was well prepared on the water: "We were very well organised with a starting boat and four safety mobos with twelve helpers on the water and a shore crew." This structure helped to keep the situation under control despite several parallel events.
It wasn't the wind that was the main problem, but the wave
The wind was strong, but not unusually so from the point of view of the race organisers. Aldag cites average values of 22 to 23 knots, with a maximum of 33 knots measured in gusts. That was "a lot, but manageable".
According to him, the real problem was on the water: "The problem was the very unusually high waves for the Elbe." Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic also informed him later that the wave height was unusually high for this wind force. "When we were in a wave trough, we could no longer see the horizon," says Aldag.
This created a situation that can be particularly critical on the Elbe: short, steep waves, currents, commercial shipping, narrow fairways and very different types of boats in the regatta field. Some crews therefore decided not to start or cancelled the race. This was to lead to problems later on.
First incident: mast breakage on a 38-foot yacht
The first major accident involved a yacht around 38 feet long. The mast came down near the Glückstadt ferries. The race organisation's safety boats were deployed immediately.
After a few minutes, Aldag Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic was able to give the all-clear: no personal injury, no further assistance necessary. The crew cut off the rigging and marked the mast lying on the bottom with a buoy.
After consultation between Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic, the customs boat and the race organisers, it was decided that the mast posed no acute danger for the time being. It was salvaged by a salvage company on Sunday.
Shortly afterwards: Melges 20 capsizes
Almost immediately afterwards, another incident occurred nearby. A Melges 20 capsized and lay keel up. Three people were on board or on the boat.
The crew was able to right the boat again. A safety boat that arrived immediately picked up a person from the water and took them to Glückstadt. Here too, the race organisers were able to quickly report to Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic that no one was injured and the situation had been resolved.
Bavaria 36 is stuck on a stone embankment
Another incident involved a Bavaria 36, which ran aground directly on a rocky embankment and lay on the rocks as the water drained away. It remained there until the next high tide. According to the race organisers, there were no injuries here either. There was initially no further immediate danger.
At the next high tide in the evening, the yacht was rescued by the fire brigade and DLRG using air cushions. She was then able to sail into Glückstadt under her own steam. The damage was limited; the yacht had a small leak that could be provisionally sealed.
The SeaHorse capsize triggered the major search operation
The most critical and complex operation was the capsizing of a SeaHorse. Two people were in the water on or near the keel-up boat. The crew reached the launching vessel by telephone and requested assistance.
The decisive factor now was the position. According to Aldag, the crew reported that she was drifting "off Pagensand". This could not actually be the case based on the time and speed of the boat. In fact, the boat was lying keel up in the fairway off the Rhinplatte, between buoys 82 and 84.
This incorrect positioning had serious consequences. The safety boats initially searched in the wrong direction. At the same time, a major search operation was launched in consultation with Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic. The fire brigade, DLRG, customs, water police, a helicopter and commercial shipping were all involved.
The decisive information finally came from commercial shipping: a small blue hull was reported, floating keel up, with two people in the water between buoys 82 and 84.
Was it the SeaHorse or another boat?
Even with this report, the situation was not fully clarified at first. At this point, the race organisers did not yet know for sure whether it was actually the SeaHorse or possibly another small racing H dinghy.
This racing H dinghy had sailed back to Wedel early after the start. However, she had not cancelled her registration with the race committee and was initially unreachable by telephone. This left the race organisers wondering whether another boat might have gone missing.
At this point, Aldag realised one of the main problems of the day. "It is important that boats that abandon the race or do not start also deregister with the race committee." "Unfortunately, many" failed to do so.
For a regatta on an area like the Elbe, this is more than just a formality. If boats do not start, abort or sail back without cancelling, the race committee has to spend valuable time clarifying their status in an emergency.
"Hamburg Express" confirms the SeaHorse
The yacht "Hamburg Express", which was not part of the regatta but took part in the search, was eventually able to confirm that the boat drifting keel-up was the SeaHorse. The "Hamburg Express" picked up one person from the water.
The second person was rescued by a safety boat belonging to the race organisers and then also handed over to the "Hamburg Express". This took both sailors to Glückstadt. The two were hospitalised as a precaution, although according to Aldag, they had not wanted to be. They were back in Glückstadt in the evening. Their boat was towed to Wedel by rescue workers on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the race organisers were still involved in the search. The starting boat cancelled the finish and took part in clarifying the situation.
The all-clear was only given after complete clarification
The biggest challenge now was to ensure that nobody was missing. To do this, all participating boats either had to be clearly sighted, reported in Glückstadt or contacted by telephone using emergency contact numbers. Only then could the race management Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic and the Bremen rescue coordination centre report that no one was in danger.
Aldag is describing a situation that quickly looked like a single rescue operation to the outside world, but internally consisted of many parallel tests: Where are the boats? Who has broken off? Who is safe in the harbour? Who is still on the track? And which report belongs to which incident?
The safety boats and the starting ship only arrived back in Glückstadt late.
Professional cooperation with the control centres
During the operations, the race management was in constant contact by radio and telephone with Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic, the Bremen rescue coordination centre of the DGzRS, the fire brigade, the customs vessel and the water police.
According to Aldag, Brunsbüttel Elbe Traffic expressly praised the cooperation. The waterway police also confirmed this on Sunday after Aldag had reported to them in detail.
Praise for the helpers
In the end, despite all the stress, Aldag would like to thank the helpers. They worked reliably under difficult conditions and managed several situations at the same time. "Once again, I would like to expressly praise all of our helpers," he says. "They did a mega job under the most difficult conditions."
The fact that the result was without personal injury despite a broken mast, capsizing, a stranded yacht and a major search operation was not just down to luck. It was also due to the fact that safety boats were quickly on site, commercial shipping and control centres were involved and the race committee kept the situation open until it was fully clarified.
Long tradition
The Glückstadt Regatta is an Elbe classic with a long history. It was first sailed in 1948 and has been jointly organised by the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and the Hamburger Segel-Club ever since. Traditionally, the regatta runs from Wedel down the Elbe to Glückstadt on Saturday and back to the Hamburg marina on Sunday. The field is broadly mixed, ranging from ORC yachts, keelboats and dinghy cruisers to dinghies suitable for racing. In previous years, participation has usually been in the region of 30 to 45 boats.
By the way: Michael Aldag is the owner of the Conger, which should foil with wings. He has not yet succeeded under sail, only in tow, but he says: "We'll keep trying."
Summarised
- No personal injury: All those involved escaped without serious injury.
- Difficult conditions: 22-23 knots of wind on average, gusts up to 33 knots, plus unusually high Elbe waves.
- Mast breakage: The mast of a 38-foot yacht came down near the Glückstadt ferries; crew uninjured, rig marked and later salvaged.
- Melges 20 capsized: Boat was keel up, crew righted it again; one person was taken out of the water.
- Bavaria 36 got stuck: The yacht was lying on a stone embankment, was rescued with air cushions at high tide and ran into Glückstadt on its own.
- SeaHorse capsized: Two persons in the water, initially wrong position indication "Pagensand", actually Rhinplatte/Tonnen 82-84.
- Major search operation: Fire brigade, DLRG, customs, water police, helicopter, commercial shipping and safety boats were involved.
- Recovery of the SeaHorse crew: One person by "Hamburg Express", one by a safety boat; both hospitalised as a precaution, returned in the evening.
- Finish cancelled: The race committee took part in the search with the starting boat.
- Core teaching: Cancelling or non-launching boats must reliably sign off, otherwise a rescue situation becomes unnecessarily confusing.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
