The accident site in the Warnemünde approach
The search for a man on the Baltic Sea off Warnemünde was unsuccessful who fell off board a sailing yacht into the water yesterday at around 2 p.m. Based on the descriptions of the crew, the waterway police assume that the victim drowned very quickly. He did not wear a life jacket and was also not on a leash.
When the accident occurred, the boat, a classic eleven-meter-long sea cruiser in charter, was approaching the Rostock Sea Canal from Gedser. The four-man crew hid the sails at some distance from the pier heads. The 42-year-old from Hamburg apparently lost his balance and went overboard. He was only able to cling to the sea fence for a short time, hanging on the hull outboard, then he slipped into the water and quickly submerged, an investigating officer told YACHT online about the descriptions of the crew.
Another crew member wanted to try to grab the man overboard while he was still holding on to the sea fence. But the victim let go of the railing wire before the helper was there. The Q-turn, which was initiated immediately, and the deployment of a lifeline had likewise no longer shown any success, the man had gone into hiding too quickly. The crews of the immediately alerted boats of the sea rescuers, fire brigade and waterway police were also unable to locate the victim.
At the time of the accident, according to the police, there were ideal sailing conditions with 4 to 5 winds and relatively calm seas. That was also confirmed by the very experienced crew. At first glance, the latter behaved correctly from a seafaring point of view during the accident. Ultimately, one must assume a tragic accident, caused by a "dangerous routine", as the investigating officer put it. And further: "If the man had been wearing a life jacket, he might still be alive."