Distress at sea: The 10 most common reasons why sailors get into trouble
Pascal Schürmann
· 13.02.2018
Every autumn and then again at the beginning of the year, the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) reports on its activities during the previous season. The numbers of people and ships rescued, which are then disseminated by the general public and other specialised sailing media and are usually not scrutinised further, regularly sound both impressive and alarmingly high.
However, a closer look at the figures presented and, in particular, the distribution of operations between different groups and types of operations, which was presented at the request of YACHT, reveals a much more differentiated picture. The groups of people rescued include not only sailors, but above all fishermen, professional sailors, motorboat drivers, kiters and surfers, swimmers and bathers, canoeists and even mudflat and beach walkers and even Hallig residents.
The breakdown by type of operation in turn shows that the rescuers are by no means only deployed when it is stormy outside and the waves are piling up as high as houses, in order to rescue sailors from their sinking yachts at the last minute. The opposite is the case. It is not uncommon for them to provide patient transport, towing assistance or technical support. And so the picture that emerges after analysing the deployment figures is one - and this is perhaps the most important finding - that more than clearly shows that boating in general and sailing in particular is far less dangerous than many a newspaper report and the publications of the DGzRS itself would have you believe.
Only around a third of the missions are for sailors
Example: By the end of October last year, sea rescuers had carried out 1901 missions along the German coasts. However, only just over half of these, namely 1065 missions, involved water sports enthusiasts. And the number of cases in which the rescuers rushed to the aid of sailors was even lower. They totalled 677 - and included dinghy and sport cat sailors as well as yacht crews.
It is understandable that the sea rescuers are not overly interested in contradicting the impression conveyed by the majority of the media on the basis of the summarised case numbers. The organisation thrives on the fear of distress at sea, as it is dependent on donations. However, donations flow primarily when there is a public perception that seafaring, of whatever kind, is risky.
However, a situation categorised as an "emergency" by the DGzRS does not always automatically mean a mission involving life and limb for those being helped. Rather, it can also include crews who have requested assistance in towing their vessel to the nearest harbour due to engine damage. This should not and must not call into question the work of the sea rescuers; their work, especially that of the many rescuers working on a voluntary basis, is indispensable - and in some cases does indeed save lives.
The reality, however, looks different, far less dramatic than is often portrayed by the DGzRS. Just take a look at the popular photos of rescue cruisers approaching in choppy seas.
In recent years, YACHT has regularly requested the figures broken down by type of operation and then analysed them. Although the data material provided by the DGzRS is unfortunately still very undifferentiated in many respects, it is still possible to determine basic results. First and foremost, this concerns the most common reasons why water sports enthusiasts call the sea rescuers for help (see picture gallery).
The 10 most common reasons why the DGzRS comes to the aid of yacht and dinghy sailors, motorboat drivers, surfers, kiters and other water sports enthusiasts. The diagrams show the deployment figures for the years 2012 to 2017 in the bars from left to right.
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Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
