Faint Mayday call
At around 5.30 pm, the Bremen Rescue control centre received a faint Mayday call on VHF channel 16. The radio message initially contained neither the name of the vessel nor its exact position.
A nearby sailing yacht had also heard the distress call and spotted the catamaran, which was about ten metres long, some nine nautical miles north of Wangerooge. Following the mast failure, the boat was adrift in the North Sea, unable to manoeuvre. There were two people on board.
Joint operation by the DGzRS and the Federal Police
The Lake Rescue Coordination Centre of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons alerted the sea-rescue cruiser “Bernhard Gruben”, stationed in Hooksiel. Its subsidiary vessel, the “Johann Fidi”, was already on a patrol and made its way to the scene of the accident.
The Federal Police’s patrol vessel “Bad Düben” also made its way towards the stricken vessel. The emergency services arrived at around 6.15 pm. The skipper had become seasick due to the catamaran’s uncontrolled rocking. The Federal Police patrol boat took him to the patrol vessel for temporary medical attention.
The mast and rigging had to be cut down
In order to tow the catamaran, sea rescue workers and federal police officers boarded the damaged boat together. They cut away the broken mast, along with the sail and rigging.
The “Bad Düben” first secured the mast and sails using its crane. The sea-rescue cruiser “Bernhard Gruben” then took the catamaran in tow. The skipper’s partner remained on board to steer the catamaran during the tow.
Safe in Hooksiel Harbour
At around 10.45 pm, the tow convoy reached the port of Hooksiel. The “Bad Düben” also arrived there shortly afterwards, meaning the two sailing vessels were reunited. No further medical attention was required.
During the operation, wind forces of three on the Beaufort scale prevailed, with wind speeds of up to 10 knots. The long, rolling swell reached wave heights of around half a metre. The cause of the mast failure is currently unclear.
You might also be interested in: Here’s what owners should bear in mind when setting up the mast.
Book recommendations
Yacht accidents analyses typical incidents, ranging from collisions to mast or rudder problems, and classifies their causes in a clear and logical manner. This gives readers a practical insight into how crews remain capable of taking action under pressure and which mistakes can be avoided even before an emergency arises.
Sea-fit rather than seasick explains the causes of seasickness and outlines specific methods from the fields of medicine, psychology and kinesiology for recognising, treating and preventing seasickness. It thus provides crews with practical assistance when nausea and exhaustion impair their ability to carry out their duties on board.
What precautions do you take on board to ensure that the crew and the boat remain as safe as possible following a mast break or similar damage?
Janek Struchholz
Volontär
