In the "Sailors confess" series, we confess our stupidest sailing mistakes. But we are also looking forward to your confession. Send us your text, if possible with pictures, to mail@yacht.dekeyword "sailor's confession". If desired, publication will be anonymised.
The desire to take part in the Silverrudder had been dormant in me for some time. In 2024, I read up on the conditions of participation and made the decision: I'm going to take part this year.
At 6.30 pm I knew that I had got one of the coveted starting places at the 13th Silverrudder. The regatta with 450 starting places was sold out in half an hour. Amazing! And I was there!
We set off on Friday, 20 September 2024. The start for me was at 10.30 am. The course was anti-clockwise and I had around 135 nautical miles ahead of me. The goal was to reach Svendborg by 12.00 noon on Sunday. That was the plan.
The collision
Time flew by. I was just before Fredericia. It was now 5.30 a.m. and I wanted to jibe one last time so as not to miss the entrance to the Little Belt. So I clipped in the tiller pilot, got up on the foredeck and headed for the spinnaker pole. Release the boom from the mast, release the windward sheet, click in the leeward sheet and then click the spinnaker pole back into the ring. I stood with my back to the direction of travel.
Suddenly there was a terrible bang behind me that shook the whole boat. I could still see a huge yellow buoy passing on my starboard side. What a bollocks. As I was upside down, I hadn't seen it and had overlooked it on the plotter.
All is still well
I took the spinnaker down and had to recover from the shock. I continued into the Little Belt. By now it was light, the wind had dropped a little and I was able to pass the bridge over the Fünen motorway without any problems. Now it was time for the railway bridge at Middelfahrt, which would keep me busy for a while. I was already through, but the current pulled me back under the bridge at a speed of three knots through the water. So I headed more towards the shore, where there was less current, and after setting the spinnaker I finally passed the bridge. Now I headed south along the Little Belt. Time passed. The wind dropped more and more, but for the first time in days there was glorious sunshine. By now I was level with Assens and bobbing on the spot with almost no wind. I decided to abandon the race. Just like many others who had to abandon the race due to the calm.
Water in the ship!
Okay, now start the engine, slow down and get the boat ready. Once that was done, I wanted to get ready inside. I picked up my Norwegian jumper. It was soaking wet! Where had the water come from? I lifted up one of the floorboards. It was all full of water, as was the front wardrobe.
I immediately pressed the DSC button and then sent a mayday on the radio. What a huge shock! Bremen Rescue contacted me and forwarded me to Lyngby Radio. Another racing sailor stopped next to me, two motorboat drivers and the ferry to Assens. Everyone offered their help. Real seamanship. I called home first and described the emergency situation. My lovely family dropped everything and arrived in Assens four and a half hours later. What a great help.
The salvage
In the meantime, the rescue cruiser from Assens pumped my boat empty as far as it could and brought me to Assens. The harbour master was contacted and as soon as the boat was moored, the crane was already in operation. Now I could see the damage for the first time. The hull had burst open at the bow. I could have cried, but the harbour master immediately called the boat builder Benny Larsson and made an appointment for Monday morning.
Antje and Clara arrived in Assens at around 10.00 pm. They booked a hotel during the journey. We couldn't sleep on the damp boat.
Sunday was glorious sunshine and my two girls set about drying the boat. They urgently asked me to get off the boat as I would have been no help, still in shock. They got 500 litres of water out of the boat. Thanks to the sunny weather, everything dried out well. Many thanks again for this work.
Benny Larsson started his repair work on Monday at 9.00 a.m. on the dot. He spoke very good German and we immediately hit it off. I had all his sympathy. The repair went quickly and at 2.00 pm "Horatio" went back into the water. I didn't want to wait any longer and at 3.00 p.m., after everything was paid for, I set off for Stralsund.
My first reaction was: never again Silverrudder, but now, with a certain distance, I would try it again. There's still a score to settle.
