In a stormy north-westerly wind, the volunteer sea rescuers at the Ueckermünde station of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Association on Tuesday afternoon (12 April) on the Szczecin Lagoon rescued five people from a dangerous situation.
The crew of the catamaran "Uhura", four men and one woman, got into difficulties on a transfer voyage from Poland to Anklam. Following electronic problems, the propulsion system of the 14 metre long, solar-powered SunCat 46 had failed. The catamaran was adrift on the lagoon, unable to manoeuvre.
With the rescue boat "Gerhard ten Doornkaat", foreman Manfred Fastnacht and the two crew members Daniela Gollatz and Manfred Braun set course for the distressed vessel. In the meantime, the "Uhura" had dropped anchor about five nautical miles north-east of Ueckermünde near buoy H6.
"The seas were unusually short with hard waves in quick succession. The catamaran made very uncontrollable movements and threatened to capsize," says Vormann Fastnacht.
In swells of up to two metres, Fastnacht carefully manoeuvred the manoeuvrable "Gerhard ten Doornkaat" close to the stricken vessel. After several attempts, the sea rescuers managed to establish a line connection. They finally towed the "Uhura" to Ueckermünde.
The crew of the shipwrecked vessel survived the stormy voyage unscathed. "According to them, they had never experienced such fears before," reports Fastnacht. The happy rescuers added a generous donation to their heartfelt "thank you" for the sea rescue organisation, which is only supported by voluntary contributions.
At the time of the accident, gale-force winds of up to eight Beaufort (up to 74 km/h wind speed) were measured over the Szczecin Lagoon. The weather suddenly deteriorated around midday.
