In distress: Dramatic rescue of a single-handed sailor in a winter storm off Heligoland

A Norwegian sailor got into serious distress yesterday when his nine-metre yacht became unmanoeuvrable about three nautical miles west of Heligoland. The skipper contacted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Bremen) at around 13:45: The mast of his vessel was damaged and the engine was causing problems, leaving him helplessly at the mercy of the storm with wind forces of nine Beaufort and waves up to five metres high in freezing temperatures.

Heligoland sea rescuers mobilise

The MRCC Bremen's operational commanders immediately alerted the rescue cruiser "Hermann Marwede" stationed on Heligoland, which set sail immediately. Coincidentally, a naval helicopter was also on a training flight in the sea area at the same time. It remained on standby at the scene.

At this point, the stricken yacht had already drifted further north. The search was like looking for a needle in a haystack: In addition to the swell, snow and hail showers with visibility of less than 150 metres made it difficult to locate the shipwrecked vessel. After about an hour, the sea rescuers managed to locate the nine-metre-long boat. They tried several times to shoot a throwing line on board the distressed sailor with a line gun. However, the now very exhausted Norwegian was no longer able to haul in the towline attached to it.

Rescue from the air

In this critical situation, the naval aviators took over the rescue and winched the skipper on board the helicopter. The sea rescuers remained on standby until the rescue operation was completed. The unmanoeuvrable yacht had to be abandoned. The marine helicopter then brought the rescued sailor safely ashore, where he was received by the rescue service. An initial medical examination revealed that the man had survived the emergency well, given the circumstances.

Last year, several recreational boaters had to be rescued by helicopter on the North Sea. Two men could only be rescued by a navy SAR helicopter after their boat sank in October. boat ran aground on a sandbank due to engine failure and began to sink. Neither a fishing cutter nor the Wangeroog sea rescue boat were able to reach the motorboat due to the life-threatening current.

A collapsed and temporarily unconscious man on a sailing boat in the Spiekeroog mudflats required a coordinated rescue operation in July. The boat had drifted out of the fairway and ran aground when the water ran out. An emergency paramedic was dropped directly onto the sailing boat by helicopter, while the emergency doctor was winched onto the rescue boat "Fritz Thieme". The patient's wife had cared for him by telephone until the rescuers arrived. The man was eventually flown to hospital by helicopter.

At the beginning of June, a nine-metre sailing yacht drifted unmanoeuvrable ten nautical miles west of Westerheversand after suffering rudder damage.Four people on board, three of them very seasick.With a force 6 to 7 north-westerly wind and two metre waves, several towing attempts by two rescue cruisers failed and various cleats tore out. As the condition of the seafarers deteriorated dangerously and it was impossible to take them ashore in the choppy seas, all four had to be winched ashore by the navy's SAR helicopter. The yacht could only then be towed ashore, where it was taken alongside in calm seas and brought to Strucklahnungshörn.