At around 1.15 pm, the crew of the Federal Police patrol vessel ‘Bad Düben’ spotted an uncontrolled sailing yacht some twenty nautical miles north-west of Hooksiel, near the Elbe navigation aid. The boat was moving erratically without a clear course, and no one responded to radio calls. The Federal Police officers therefore decided to investigate the situation more closely.
Federal police officers board the vessel
Two federal police officers used the "Bad Düben"’s dinghy to make their way over to the 14-metre-long sailing yacht. What they found there was dramatic: an elderly man – alone on board in the middle of the North Sea – was so seriously ill that he needed urgent medical treatment. According to the sea rescue service, his condition was considered life-threatening.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen, operated by the DGzRS, was alerted immediately and coordinated the entire operation from that moment onwards. One important question that needed to be considered was: what should be done with the boat once the sailor had been airlifted to safety?
Three units, one operation
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre mobilised all available resources and launched a joint operation of the kind typical for missions in the North Sea area. The 46-metre-long sea-rescue cruiser “Hermann Marwede” from the Deutsche Bucht/Helgoland station – the largest vessel in the DGzRS fleet – was deployed and set sail immediately. On board was an emergency doctor who also serves as a volunteer sea rescuer.
In addition, the sea rescue cruiser “Bernhard Gruben” was called out from the Hooksiel station to provide assistance. In addition, the “Northern Rescue 01” helicopter from NHC Northern Helicopter took off and arrived at the scene shortly after 2 pm – less than an hour after the solo sailor had been spotted.
Rescued from danger using a winch
The helicopter carried out the actual rescue: the sailor, who had fallen ill, was lifted directly from the yacht using a winch and then flown to hospital. The exact diagnosis and his whereabouts were not made public by the authorities. However, the operation was not over for the sea rescue team once the man had been rescued.
The derelict ship
The now unmanned, 14-metre-long sailing yacht adrift on the open North Sea would have posed a danger to shipping. Salvaging it was therefore also part of the operation. The “Hermann Marwede”’s auxiliary boat transported two sea rescue workers to the yacht, and the two of them, equipped with provisions and safety gear, navigated the vessel the distance of just under twenty nautical miles to Hooksiel. There, they finally moored the yacht, which was undamaged.
