Workshop and breakdown service: Sindy and René Haar help boaters in need

Anyone who owns a sailing boat or motorboat in Flensburg and is surprised by technical problems of any kind and has the telephone number of Yacht- und Motorenservice René Haar in their pocket will be helped. If a sea valve is leaking and a water ingress causes the boat to go aground, René pumps the hull empty, lifts the boat and replaces the valve. If the diesel pump is defective, a filter is clogged, the electrics are spinning, the rudder is jammed - there is nothing that this lively power mechanic cannot get to grips with.

Anyone who gets into trouble with their boat on the fjord calls SeaHelp for help and ends up back at René Haar. A sailor has grounded in shallow water and is stuck. Haar establishes the towing connection with his bright yellow seaworthy SeaHelp workboat with a 230 hp diesel engine and helps the stranded sailor into open water. If the engine breaks down, he provides starting assistance, replaces filters or impellers, and in the event of an accident, he takes part in the rescue operations.

His service boat is always ready for action at the jetty in Flensburg's Sonwik marina. Perfectly equipped and strong enough to take a 50-tonne schooner on the hook. In 2011, he joined SeaHelp, an organisation from the USA that sees itself as a breakdown service at sea and is now also widespread in Europe.

Businesswoman with technical expertise

And then there's his workshop at Engelbyerstraße 9 in Flensburg: crammed with engines and spare parts that all need to be dismantled, overhauled or installed, and countless customers who are on the phone almost around the clock. A pretty varied programme for a single person, if it weren't for his wife Sindy. The mother of two very fit sons not only runs the business as managing director, she also knows the boat trade inside out and has an enormous amount of technical expertise.

As a trained car mechanic, she has held the SFB-See and the SKS licence, all radio certificates and the licence to operate lifeboats in an emergency since 2001. She is directly involved in most operations with her heavily motorised dinghy as a back-up and is not afraid of rough weather conditions and rough seas.

Available day and night at SeaHelp

For the Haars, helping means being ready around the clock, day and night, whether it's storming or snowing. They are always on the go and ready for any job, no matter how complicated. Question for Sindy: "Is there still time for the family and the household with such a busy programme?" - "My sons already work regularly in the company alongside school, and when things get too busy, we all disappear for a few days and enjoy being together."

René Haar, a trained master car technician, joined his father's boat service business in 1988 and learnt literally everything from him, an experienced sailor and technician. He has been an official Mercury dealer since 1978 and is now also responsible for Volvo Penta and Nanni diesel engines. What does someone with such a demanding job do with his meagre free time? He builds small-scale ship models and works as a naval historian. René Haar has created a database for the US Navy in which the entire technical data of all naval vessels worldwide is listed, and he actually still has them all in his head! Chapeau to such a memory! And what are his other hobbies? "Screwing," he laughs, "that's always been my dream." You can take his word for it.

More about SeaHelp: www.sea-help.eu

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• The Sea-Help area guide - Croatia's coast from above!