It's sunny, but a bitingly cold easterly wind is reddening faces, turning knuckles white on fingers that are screwing together and causing even the heavy work floating pontoons to rock on small waves. "Just keep working, don't stop," is Michael's recipe against the cold. He is one of around 15 members of the Großenbrode Yacht Club (YCG) who are working on their jetty on this Saturday in early March. The devastating Baltic Sea storm surge last October had also severely affected the club harbour on the Großenbrode inland lake. Since then, the members have been rebuilding the harbour themselves. Throughout the winter, they have been working in every spare minute despite the wind and weather.
Just like today. Some bring in bongossi wooden planks on heavy-duty rollers, others climb nimbly onto the pontoons, dismantle old boards and timbers and screw on new ones. In between, Thomas swiftly drives the youth dinghy, which has been converted into a work boat, back and forth, bringing whatever is needed. "I don't even know what I'm doing this for yet - I don't even have a boat any more," he says with a shrug. His Luffe was lifted by the waves in the storm and landed in free fall on a dolphin that pierced it from port to starboard. Other owners had to watch from the clubhouse as their ships sank. They stood there helplessly as the planking of their south jetty completely separated from its base and drifted over the waves like a raft, along with the boats.
Clubhouse of the Großenbrode Yacht Club becomes engineering office
Up and down the country, scenes like these posed major challenges for sailors and harbour operators. And the damage left behind continues to do so to this day. The YCG has been tackling the disaster with plans and action since day one after the catastrophe. Instead of worrying and brooding, the men and women collected debris, helped to salvage the damaged vessels and spent days piling up a long wall of seaweed around the open storage area, which the waves had hurled into the harbour basin, onto the mooring lines and the shoreline by the tonne.
Meanwhile, on the first floor of the clubhouse, a planning team of civil engineers, mechanical engineers, a structural engineer and a surveyor, recruited from among the members, put their heads together for a week and planned the construction steps and materials for the new construction of the harbour. In between, they inspected the remains of their jetties, found foundations that proved to be durable, dowels that had to be replaced and some screws that had corroded to a minimal diameter. One member is a professor and has his university's institute calculate weather models for the region. They come to the conclusion that what was dubbed the event of the century in October 2023 will most likely not remain one.
Jetty in Großenbrode to withstand twice the forces in future
All planning is therefore geared towards a worst-case scenario: the jetties are higher, the bollards more stable and with longer fingers that can also hold thicker mooring lines. The new system is designed to withstand twice the forces of the old one. "We knew in October that it was going to be bad, but we didn't know how bad it was going to be - the forecasts aren't accurate enough today," reports Lars Kremp, Chairman of the Großenbrode Yacht Club. "Many of us came to the harbour during the storm surge to intervene in an emergency. But when the breakwater that separates our inland lake from the Baltic Sea, which always gave us the feeling that we were safe and protected here, was simply overrun by the waves, the harbour was suddenly a surf zone." Life-threatening to enter, bitter to watch. This should not happen again in the future.
In the club room on the ground floor, decorative club stands and trophies had to make way for red and white fluttering tape on lampshades. Today, the canteen meets an arsenal of tools. Vegetables are cleaned and dough is kneaded behind the counter. Large-format construction plans and building instructions hang from the windows, while a battery of rechargeable batteries for the numerous screwdrivers, drills and other tools hums quietly below. Work lists and schedules lie on the table next to them, boxes of work gloves are waiting to be used. "The days of white trousers and gold-buttoned jackets are over, we've now entered the era of dungarees," says Kremp, commenting on the new situation with a wink. He is managing the large-scale project with patience and quiet grandeur.
In daily use for a good five months
Over lunch, the club members take it in turns to talk about the night of the storm and all the work they did together afterwards. Kremp listens, sometimes starts to speak himself, only to fall silent when someone else wants to say something. This isn't his show, it's his job.
Immediately after the storm, the tall man made himself an extra-long bed on the first floor of the association building, the actual boardroom, and took up residence. Only once did he leave his permanent volunteer job for a fortnight due to a professional assignment, and another time delivery delays led to a few days of construction downtime. Otherwise, he has been working almost around the clock for a good five months. "I'm mostly involved with the orders and coordinating those who are working on the project," he says.
Kremp's main job was supply chain manager at a large aircraft manufacturer. As a result, he is used to coordinating the procurement of materials and is creative when there is a lack of material to continue. He makes at least twelve phone calls every day just to plan the operation, and answers just as many emails, in addition to answering questions from helpers who need advice or a "go" beyond what was actually planned. Every day, he sends all members a status report with photos of the progress made.
Previously strangers work together
Seeing how quickly the work is progressing - it only took twelve days to build the east jetty, for example - should motivate those who are actively helping out and probably also give food for thought to the few who have not yet been able or willing to lend a hand. Every morning at eight o'clock, Kremp allocates tasks in a calm voice over breakfast and gives safety instructions in case someone gets injured or falls into the cold water. So far, three plasters have been handed out and one fall into the water has been survived without injury, and that is how it should stay.
The faces he looks into are always different. The men and women have travelled to Großenbrode from Hamburg or from further afield, from the Sauerland or Tönisvorst, one even from Spain. Those who have travelled a long way can stay longer. Three holiday flats whose owners belong to the association then become temporary shared flats. Many of those working, living and eating together didn't know each other very well beforehand. Now they are not only creating a new harbour, but also a new association dynamic. "We know each other now. Not just by name. It will be a completely different club life in the future. The shared meals in particular are very valuable," says Kremp and receives nods of approval. Only once does someone ask what all the food costs the club. The answer is a stern look and further questions are dismissed.
The large-scale project has also significantly shortened the decision-making processes. The kitchen, where fresh food is cooked and baked daily, was extended and a dishwasher installed, and old night storage heaters were replaced by a heat pump. The usual requests, discussions and decisions gave way to the need to provide a usable infrastructure for the construction site. This can also be seen in the workshop and the warehouse, where countless nuts and bolts, threaded rods and washers of all kinds are stored in neatly labelled compartments.
The new construction is progressing faster than planned
Peter is one of the pensioners who is there almost every day. Today, he keeps the magazine tidy, distributes materials and sorts the contents of the mixing boxes back into the appropriate compartments in the evening. "Tidying up again and again is important so that you don't spend too much time searching and can keep an overview of the stock," he says. The hall in which he stands actually serves as storage for the youth boats, which were quickly moved into a quickly erected tent next door in October, the tensioning straps of which are now being pulled by the wind. Another new tent houses more massive equipment such as a circular table saw or a floor drill, professionally supplied with power.
At the edge of the outdoor storage area, where the boats have to wait for attention in a rarely untouched state for the time of year, the old material is sorted into what can be reused or resold and what needs to be disposed of. The office on the first floor of the clubhouse also offers far more than just an enchanting view of the Baltic Sea, with a new printer, PC and camp beds for helpers. Olaf, "my back office", as Lars Kremp calls the engineer, comes up the creaky stairs.
He has managed large construction projects and is now, fortunately for everyone, retired. For the large material deliveries, he passes on drawings and parts lists to the suppliers and sometimes has to push for supplies to arrive. "Sometimes, when I saw the situation report in the evening, I thought: 'Someone's faking the photos!" The new construction is progressing faster than planned, every day from early morning until late evening, no matter what the weather is like.
Since the storm surge, the 150 members have worked 7,000 hours. A few more will have to be added until the last jetties are finished. But then the harbour will be more theirs than ever.
Interview with Lars Kremp: "You can't do it without everyone!"
Lars Kremp is the chairman of the Großenbrode Yacht Club - and since the storm surge, he has been something like the managing director of a small, very efficient company.
Lars, you didn't hesitate for long after the storm surge and started rebuilding your harbour straight away. What encouraged you to do this?
Lars Kremp: Coincidentally, the renovation of our north footbridge was already on the agenda a few weeks earlier. After a rather high cost estimate, we initially tried to do it ourselves - with success. So on 21 October, we were confident that we would be able to complete the project. The reality even exceeded these optimistic expectations. Ultimately, however, we had little choice. The harbour is owned by the association - the land, the buildings and also the water area with the jetties. This is rare here in Großenbrode on the coast and has been a huge advantage for decades, because we can keep the mooring fees low and don't need a licence from the municipality for everything we want to do. But with the storm surge, this also became a huge task for us.
You've been working on this together for months. How is the collaboration going?
The day after the disaster, we asked each boat to invest a week's labour in addition to the twelve hours of work per year that are already planned. Most of them are willing to do this, but we have to convince some of them in a personal conversation. Not that anyone is unwilling, but someone who runs a company, for example, is not necessarily available. Ultimately, however, everyone pitches in - that's also the motto on our daily management report: we can't do it without everyone.
We have very motivated skilled workers in our organisation, many of them from traditional apprenticeships in the skilled trades. Some of them now only sit in the office due to their careers. They are so keen to work in their old apprenticeship again and see what they have achieved every day! Even in the often very unpleasant weather, they achieved an incredible amount and motivated each other. The work quickly got into a flow. Some were carrying beams and slabs, while others were chiselling steel beams.
The electricians have spent weeks reorganising the electricity boxes and a master plumber is installing the entire water system behind them - like a large company that has skilled workers for everything. Even those who can't or can no longer work outside on the building site are doing their bit. A few pensioners have been working for months, helping to coordinate or look after the magazine, and there is always someone to do the work in the kitchen. Even former members help or donate to the reconstruction work.
This is an indication of what is probably on the minds of all the clubs concerned: the question of how the construction can be financed.
Despite all the work we have done ourselves, the cost of the materials is high. Each GRP bar mat costs 120 euros, we have installed 200 metres of new lengths for water and electricity, and the interior of a single power box alone costs 40,000 euros. Like most clubs, we also receive funding from the sports subsidy programme, but this is earmarked and capped. So we have to pay for it ourselves, but we are lucky that we have saved money for the renovation of part of our footbridges. As a result, we have a reserve for the repairs, which has helped us a lot.
Did you also have to finance parts of the refurbishment on credit?
To date, we have not had to borrow any money. The Annual General Meeting is coming up soon, when we can tell the members what we still have to expect this year. The remaining costs will then probably have to be financed via levies.
Your harbour will soon be restored and the season can begin, but the images from the night of the storm remain in your head. How are you dealing with it?
This is also a new task for us: preparing the harbour for future storms. In future, we will take a similar approach to the tidal ports from 1 November to 1 April and dismantle most of the equipment. We generally assume that such weather phenomena will become more frequent and are preparing for this in the summer, not only with the more stable and higher jetties, but also in terms of organisation.
What exactly do you mean by that?
We will form something like a rapid reaction force, a telephone list of 20 people who are quickly available. They will then have the task of collecting the electricity boxes and securing the boats. Everyone has seen what damage torn-out cleats can cause. In future, the boats in our harbour will therefore be secured at their most stable point with a round sling made of strong nylon around the mast in the event of impending storms. Some owners may find this excessive, but I don't care. If nothing happens, I'm happy. But if a storm is forecast, then I pretend it's going to be bad and prepare our harbour and the boats for it. And then we'll see.
