Sea rescue service rescues regatta participant
Long-distance regatta loses windsurfer. DGzRS rescue operation during the ‘Baltic Crossing Challenge’. Questionable handling of information by Hanse Sail.
The “Baltic Crossing Challenge”, a long-distance regatta from Gedser in Denmark to Warnemünde in Germany, some 48 kilometres away, forms part of this year’s “Hanse Sail”. A participating windsurfer was reported overdue to the DGzRS sea rescue service at around 1.15 pm on 7 August 2026.
However, according to a press release from Hanse Sail dated 7 August – which was also available as an article on the Hanse Sail website on Sunday, 8 August 2026 – all 18 participants arrived safely at the surf school below the Neptun Hotel “and were greeted with cheers by family and friends.”
If everyone had arrived, who was rescued then?
A call to the Hanse Sail press office clarified the matter: it had initially been assumed that all participants had arrived. However, this was not the case. It was only discovered afterwards that one of the 18 participants had not arrived. All participants were equipped with live trackers. On Sunday, the Hanse Sail press office saw no reason to correct the information it had released to the public regarding the safe arrival of all 18 participants at their destination.
The rescue
According to the DGzRS, it was unclear where the windsurfer was at the time the alarm was raised. In addition to the sea-rescue cruiser Arkona, those involved in the search included the coastal patrol boat ‘Warnow’ from the Rostock Water Police Inspectorate, the deep-sea salvage tug ‘Baltic’ from the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) and the research vessel ‘Elisabeth M. Borgese’ from the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research in Warnemünde (IOW).
The harbour masters in Warnemünde drew attention to the trackers carried by the regatta participants, which ultimately enabled his position to be determined.
The 57-year-old was found exhausted 13 kilometres north-west of Warnemünde in seas of up to two metres. The man was taken aboard the Arkona’s tender. The crews of the Warnow and Baltic retrieved the windsurfing equipment. The survivor was treated on board the Arkona by the volunteer maritime emergency doctor and handed over to an ambulance on shore.
August 8, 2026 © DAILY DOSE | Text: Christian Tillmanns | Fotos/Grafiken: Die Seenotretter - DGzRS / Casio | translation: DE
