In distress at sea: Two sailors in acute mortal danger rescued from the North Sea
Morten Strauch
· 21.08.2025
At around 4 pm, the skipper alerted the DGzRS Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Bremen: He and his co-sailor had got into a critical situation off the uninhabited island of Mellum: After suffering rudder damage, their sailing yacht was adrift in the dangerous surf zone of a sandbank about half a nautical mile north-east of the Mellumplate lighthouse. With rising water and a north-westerly wind of up to three Beaufort, waves up to two metres high had formed, which hit the seven and a half metre long boat hard.
The Horumersiel and Hooksiel stations of the DGzRS were alerted immediately. The volunteer sea rescuers from Horumersiel set off with the rescue boat "Wolfgang Paul Lorenz", while the rescuers from Hooksiel followed almost simultaneously with the daughter boat "Johann Fidi" and the rescue cruiser "Bernhard Gruben".
In the choppy sea, the rescuers were initially unable to establish a line connection to the distressed vessel. The woman had suffered a shock and reacted in panic, and the skipper was also in a bad way physically due to the life-threatening situation. The low water level initially prevented even the shallow-draft "Johann Fidi" from approaching from the west. The See rescue coordination centre therefore called in the rescue helicopter Christoph 26 from the ADAC air rescue service in Sanderbusch.
Shortly afterwards, however, the sea rescuers were successful from an easterly direction, as there was more water there. A rescuer managed to get onto the boat to help the sailors tie up the towline. The yacht was then pulled off the sandbank. The rescue helicopter dropped an emergency doctor and an emergency paramedic on the distressed vessel.
In calmer waters, the "Wolfgang Paul Lorenz" first picked up the sailor and the helicopter's medical team, and later also the skipper. The rescue cruiser finally took the rescued people on board, where the woman received medical treatment. The "Johann Fidi" towed the yacht safely into the harbour of Hooksiel, where both sailors were handed over to the rescue service. Fortunately, their state of health had stabilised to such an extent that no further medical treatment was required.
