"Croix du Sud" safely in the harbor - here before the start in Douarnenez, now in Cape Town
Henrik Masekowitz's non-stop journey came to an end on Tuesday. He had sailed his Class40 "Croix du Sud" over almost 600 nautical miles alone and hobbling on one leg to the bay of Cape Town. Then helpers hurried to meet him.
Harbor master Steven Bentley, who had been following his course in the Yellowbrick tracker for five days, was waiting five miles out to sea with two young sailors in a rib for the German. The two went on board, hid the sails and prepared to moor - a great relief and relief for Masekowitz, who could hardly have done the maneuver with one hand without problems.
Scarcely had he been moored to the jetty in front of the "Victori & Alfred Waterfront Hotel" when the busy harbor master took him to the hospital, where his right leg was examined. It turned out that the foot and ankle are apparently not broken, as initially feared, but only severely dislocated and swollen. This is what his partner reported to YACHT online.
With a firm bandage and walking on crutches, the man from Hamburg then returned on board and took care of all the formalities as well as his return flight. Because on Christmas Eve he wants to be at home and celebrate with his family. Unexpected luck, should he actually be sailing deep in the Southern Ocean, everything would have gone according to plan. He hauled his ship into the sheltered waterfront marina before boarding the plane today.
A further MRI examination in Germany will show how severe the injury actually is and how long the recovery will take. "At first glance," said Masekowitz in his last Twitter message, "it's not that bad." With the sailing, however, is first of all a "break".
That at least leaves open whether he will continue his journey from Cape Town after all. The planned record would be unattainable because of the stop, but Masekowitz could still become the second German after Wilfried Erdmann to sail around the world with one hand.
In a long interview with YACHT, which will be published in issue 3/2016 before boot Düsseldorf in mid-January, he let it be known that this no longer really appeals to him. However, at this point in time, shortly before going ashore, he was still very upset and "blown by the wind", as he himself said.
A few quiet days to think and pause might be just the thing.