Once again, a dramatic situation went off lightly for the two-man crew of a ten-meter-long yacht on Sunday evening. She stranded on the north side of the island of Norderney, but was able to save herself on land.
At around 10:50 p.m., the skipper of the boat, which is sailing under the Swedish flag, reported to the Bremen Sea Emergency Management via channel 16. "It was difficult to understand. At first we couldn't find out what had happened, where the boat is and how many people are on board," reports Gerd Schwips, foreman of the rescue cruiser "Eugen", whose crew had also overheard the emergency call.
In another radio message, the sea rescuers made weak a reference to the White Dune beach section on the north coast of Norderney. The "Eugen" therefore set course for the presumed disaster area. At around 11 p.m. the skipper of the sailing yacht reported grounding and a few minutes later the boat was sitting on the beach. The sea rescuers alerted the Norderney fire department.
20 minutes later, the crew of the rescue cruiser found the damaged vessel on the beach on the north side of the island. The Dovetief fairway, which leads from the North Sea into the Norderney lake channel, does not run far from the site of the accident.
At the time, there were north-northeast winds around 5 Beaufort and about 2.5 meters of residual swelling - conditions that made a tow attempt away from the beach impossible. With a powerful searchlight, however, the rescue crew was able to guide the fire brigade to the site of the stranding.
The two sailors had been able to save themselves on land on their own. Other people were not on board, they told the fire department. The land rescue service took care of them. According to a report by the NDR, they were taken to the hospital. What happens to the stranded yacht is still open.