For many, it was possibly the last sailing weekend of the season. Lots of sunshine, light winds and German Unity Day as a public holiday offered the best conditions for casting off once again. For the sea rescuers of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS), however, it was a very busy time. According to a statement from the sea rescuers, they were called out 21 times; a total of 58 helpers were deployed.
Alleged engine fire
In the Kiel Fjord, the helpers were called upon several times on Saturday. Firstly, a motor yacht about one and a half nautical miles off Wendtorf caused a commotion in the afternoon. Due to heavy smoke below deck, a fire was suspected in the engine room. The family on board had previously sent out a "Mayday" call and alerted the sea rescuers. On site, it turned out that only a cooling water pipe had burst. As only one of the two engines was affected, the motor yacht was able to make its own way to a nearby harbour accompanied by the sea rescuers.
Sea rescuers search for missing sailing boat
That same evening, a sailing boat and crew also went missing in the Kiel Fjord. The crew had not returned to the harbour after a regatta. The volunteer sea rescuers from the Schilksee station set out to search for the approximately ten metre long, motorless boat. According to their own information, they discovered it at around 22:20 on the north-western edge of the Todendorf restricted area, near the Kiel lighthouse. The sailors drew attention to themselves with a hand-held searchlight when they saw the blue lights of the sea rescuers. They were then towed back to the harbour.
Things also got dicey on the Outer Elbe on Saturday evening. A motor yacht about ten metres long reported a heavy water ingress to the sea rescuers. The pilot tender "Groden" and the transfer boat "Elbe 4" were first on the scene. Together with the crew, they managed to contain the water ingress using buckets. Later, the rescue cruiser "Anneliese Kramer" arrived to assist and deployed powerful bilge pumps. The motorboat and its crew were then towed to the harbour in Cuxhaven.
Mast breakage after collision
But even before the weekend had begun, the sea rescuers had to be called out several times. On Thursday, for example, a serious collision occurred between a yacht and a cargo ship (the YACHT reported). In the German Bight, northwest of the uninhabited island of Scharhörn, the 9.50 metre long sailing yacht collided with the 89 metre long freighter "Lotta", which was travelling from Rouen (France) to Lithuania.
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While the freighter remained virtually undamaged, the yacht suffered considerable damage. The mast broke and there was a large leak in the hull. Fortunately, the skipper survived the accident unharmed. The rescuers eventually towed the yacht away and brought it safely to Cuxhaven. It is still unclear why the collision occurred.
Power failure and man overboard
Another incident on Friday night: a survey vessel, which was moored north of the island of Borkum, requested the help of the sea rescuers. The crew reported engine problems that repeatedly led to power failures on board. This posed a considerable danger both to the ship itself and to general shipping in the area. According to the sea rescuers, the rescue cruiser "Hamburg" came to the rescue and towed the 24-metre-long ship and its crew of six into the port of Borkum.
A 67-year-old man also fell overboard on Friday afternoon. He was in his motor yacht off the Schleswig-Holstein Baltic coast near the holiday resort of Damp. A passing sailing yacht noticed the accident by chance and rescued the severely hypothermic man from the water. According to the sea rescuers, the volunteers from the Damp station also went to the scene of the accident and towed the victim's boat into the harbour.
