Bremen Yacht Monsun Sank – Crew Saved at DaimlerChrysler Challenge

by Courtesy DaimlerChrysler Challenge on 22 Jun 2003 Ketch Hit Something Unknown in Stormy Seas / Hours of Fear

Newport/Bremen/Hamburg. It is the nightmare of every sailor – sinking in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. It became bitter truth for the crew of the Bremen off-shore yacht Monsun on Friday, June 20, during the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge 2003.

During a storm in high seas, the six crew-members had to leave their vessel after hitting an unknown object and the boat taking on water, reported Skipper Peter Flügge via satellite phone to the DCNAC race officer. Crew had to huddle in a life-raft for several hours and wait for help. While the 46-foot ketch sank south of the Newfoundland coast, the ship-wrecked sailors were successfully rescued by a freighter. Apart from skippers broken rib, all six crew are well and safe.

In a fleet of 58 yachts altogether, Monsun had started in the main field six days ago on Saturday, June 14 in Newport, Rhode Island/USA to take part in this transatlantic regatta of over 3,600 nautical miles to Cuxhaven and on to Hamburg. The unexpected emergency cast a shadow over the up-coming start of the five fastest yachts on Saturday, June 21. Everyone’s thoughts were preoccupied with unlucky Monsun and its crew. They were rescued by a Hamburg freighter named Independent Action from shipping company Peter Döhle and are currently on their way to Philadelphia, USA.

The MaydayMaydayMayday signal has been first heard at 1.37 p.m. local time, a time at which the area reportedly had stormy southerly winds with gales of up to force nine with six to eight meter waves. British Army yacht Discoverer apparently received Monsun’s SOS as part of the general HF safety call when she was more than 400 nautical miles away. The British soldiers, so far in second place overall behind US yacht Zaraffa, passed on the emergency call to the international rescue directing centre Falmouth in their home-country England. They immediately contacted the nearest Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Norfolk, Virginia/USA that coordinated the rescue activities. Despite the immediate take-off of two Canadian rescue plane of type C-130, more than three fearful hours passed by until crew family members and the race organizers learned that the two women and four men had been safely taken on board.

Skipper Peter Flügge (49), sailing Monsun with his family and a friend from Flensburg, Germany, had made respectably progress with his sturdy 30-year old wooden vessel. While Monsun with her IRC handicap factor of 0.876 was most likely the slowest yacht of the fleet, she was on position 38 of 58 competitors. According to her latest position report from 12.05 a.m. UTC on Friday, the yacht was at 40 degrees 28.82’ North and 56 degree 53.85’ West and had already sailed 677 nautical miles. The 8 KR touring ketch built by renowned Abeking + Rasmussen shipyard had crossed the Atlantic four times and even reached third place at the 1989 ARC (Atlantic Ralley for Cruiser).

„We are relieved that no-one was seriously hurt after all, although the beautiful wooden yacht is lost for good’, said Gunter Persiehl, President of Norddeutscher Regatta Vereins (NRV), the organizer of DCNAC to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Hamburgischer Verein Seefahrt (HVS).’ The rescue activity, run by principal race officer Alan Green on the race organizers end, seems to have run perfectly smoothly.

For more go to: http://www.daimlerchrysler-north-atlantic-challenge.de