A fast-moving, severe storm proved fatal for four crews in the Atlantic, while another crew escaped with a black eye. The yachts from France, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and the USA were exposed to wind speeds of over 50 knots in gusts on their way to Europe around 500 nautical miles south of the Azores last Wednesday night. Water ingress, damage to engines and rigs and injured people on board prompted the crews to call for help.
However, help came too late for a six-year-old girl from a French family crew; she died after being rescued, presumably as a result of hypothermia. Together with her father, she had been drifting in the water for several hours. The cruising catamaran in which the family had been travelling had previously capsized and sunk; only the mother and another child had made it to the life raft. This was reported by various sources.
The crew of the "Kolibri" is rescued
A total of twelve sailors were rescued from their ships, from life rafts and directly from the sea during the large-scale rescue operation, which involved SAR helicopters from the Portuguese navy and several nearby cargo ships. Only the crew of the Swedish yacht got their previously reported distress under control and continued their journey.
In the days that followed, the Portuguese coastguard warned of the three yachts still adrift in the sea area.
The German yawl "Peter von Seestermühe", built in 1936, was also caught in the deep, but escaped unscathed. Skipper Christoph von Reibnitz reports from on board in Horta: "We are one of the few undamaged yachts in Horta in the Azores and are safe in harbour. Our Atlantic voyage from Antigua was initially favoured by the weather. However, three days before we reached the Azores, the stern wind picked up to full gale force. For two very wet days, we sailed with 9 to 10 Beaufort only under storm jib with 8.5 knots before the wind. Heavy seas frequently broke on and above deck and the cockpit was almost constantly flooded. We learnt how well we were doing on the second day in port in Horta when we heard about the five yachts in distress." Von Reibnitz ends his report with: "The Atlantic has taught us humility here. We are correspondingly grateful for the safety of the harbour."
Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
