Yacht Milou crashes into breakwater at Port Północny. Skipper rescued
On Wednesday morning, August 20, a serious incident occurred on the approaches to Port Północny in Gdańsk. The yacht Milou, sailed single-handed by a Polish skipper in his 60s, was left adrift after the man fell overboard some four nautical miles off the port entrance.
In brief
A solo sailor fell overboard from the yacht Milou around 4 nautical miles from the entrance to the Northern Port in Gdańsk on the morning of Wednesday, 20 August. The man drifted for nearly an hour before he was picked up by the crew of a dredger, and rescuers of the Polish Maritime Search and Rescue Service took over the casualty, who showed signs of hypothermia, and brought him to port. The yacht Milou struck the breakwater and settled on the star blocks with a damaged hull but without an oil spill. SAR spokesman Rafał Goeck said the owner, in consultation with the Maritime Office, is preparing to recover the vessel.
For nearly an hour the sailor drifted in the waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk before being spotted by the crew of a dredger engaged in works in the area. The dredger’s crew launched their rescue craft and recovered the man.
- The crew of the dredger noticed a person floating in the water and immediately deployed their rescue boat, said Rafał Goeck, spokesperson for the Polish Maritime Search and Rescue Service (SAR). - At the same time, our coordination center dispatched the SAR vessel Wiatr from Górki Zachodnie. By the time our unit arrived, the casualty had already been taken aboard the dredger’s rescue craft.
The sailor, suffering from hypothermia but otherwise in good condition, was transferred to Wiatr and brought ashore, where an ambulance crew was standing by.
Meanwhile, Milou continued to drift unmanned until it struck the port breakwater and settled on the armour blocks. The hull sustained structural damage but, according to SAR, no oil pollution was detected.
- There is a strong possibility of a breach below the waterline, which could cause the vessel to flood and sink, Goeck added. - The owner, in coordination with the Maritime Office, is now preparing a salvage operation to remove the yacht safely from the breakwater.
The incident once again highlights the importance of personal safety equipment and reliable alerting systems aboard recreational craft. Prompt action by the dredger’s crew and coordinated SAR response prevented what could have been a fatal accident.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Kamil Kusier
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