However, all help comes too late for the ship - the 19-metre racing yacht is a total loss. She belongs to the Nordic Hotel chain from Kiel, which was using her for incentives. Maarten Nood, head of the KNRM rescue centre in Den Helder, explains the circumstances of the accident to YACHT online: "On Saturday evening, we received an alert from the coastguard about a yacht aground with an unknown position, as the crew were unable to provide any precise information about the location of the ship. On the instructions of the coastguard, a distress rocket was then fired from on board the yacht. The ship was then located in the Molengat."
This fairway leads from the north into the Marsdiep, i.e. the approach to Texel. It passes a few hundred metres along the beach of the westernmost Wadden Island. As the KNRM arrived at the distressed vessel at low tide, the water in the Molengat had previously been running against the prevailing wind direction. "In such conditions, it's better to stay away. The diversions through Schulpengat to the south is 15 miles, but it's much safer. Especially since the buoyage in Molengat was thinned out this spring," Nood continues. The remaining buoyage is unlit.
When the rescuers arrived, the yacht was already so far aground that even the KNRM's shallow-draft jet ribs could no longer reach it, and no towing attempts were even made. The four crew members of the shipwrecked vessel were rescued from the beach in a small inflatable boat and are safe and sound. Facebook comments on the Page of the KNRM Den Helder The reports from yacht crews who followed the action on the radio suggest panic on board the "Nordic Blue". Very strange position reports were made and no help was given in localising the radio signal.
It is still unclear why the "Nordic Blue" was in Molengat at night. The owner, the Nordic Blue hotel group, intends to issue a press release on the incident shortly.
