SVN solovelanet

89 SVN Solovelanet Global I t was August 2003 when Mr and Mrs Gehrig left the yacht club in Greifswald, a small town in northern Germany known for hosting the Han- se Group shipyards, with their Flirt 30 named Deern, a small sailboat built in Germany and about twenty years old. Wolfgang and Roswitha sailed to Karlshagen, in the Baltic Sea, to refuel. It was the first day of their cruise, the beginning of a vacation, and they were happy. They set off from Karlshagen around 11 am, and since the wind was hiding, they decided to head north and spend the night in Sassnitz, but then the wind rose from the north-west in the right direction to take them to Ronne, a pretty town on the Danish island of Bornholm. Although the wind was light, it was enough to make the small Flirt proceed with the help of the engine. The navigation lights were on, the night was clear and visibility was excellent. At about 11.30 pm Wolfgang, who until then had been resting below deck, climbed into the cockpit and his wife Roswitha went downstairs to unwind in the forward cabin. A quarter of an hour later, Wolfgang sighted some lights, but he did not worry too much: the moon had fallen, but visibility was still great. The noise was going on and getting stronger. Wolfgang was sure that the ship had seen them and, having to give them way, would change her course, but that is not what happened. When Wolf - gang jumped up because the noise had become too loud and close, it was too late. The bow of the ship was just a few meters from the boat, and he did not even have the time to disengage the auto- pilot and maneuver, when the crash occurred. It was a dramatic crash. The boat was hurled upward and overturned, Wolfgang was thrown into the sea like a rag doll, the boat broke in two, and when she fell back into the water she sank to the bottom, taking Roswitha Gehrig with her. Alone in the middle of nowhere It is hard to determine if anyone on the ship's deck realized what was going on forward of them. The pieces of the boat were flying through the air and the white sails refracted the starlight, so if they had paid attention, they would surely have seen something. But the noise of the ship's race did not cease or diminish. The steel monster passed over the calm and now deserted sea, leaving behind the tragedy it had caused. T he navigation code is very precise about right of way, and provides the following rules: a) a boat proceeding only under sail has right of way over a motor boat or ship; b) a boat proceeding only under sail must give way to a ship or boat that is having difficulty ma- neuvering or is affected by her own draft; c) a sailboat proceeding with the sails up and the propeller running must be considered a mo- tor boat; d) between two motor boats, the one coming from starboard has right of way; e) between two sailboats, the one with tacks to the starboard has right of way. A motor boat gives way to the boat coming from starboard. A motor boat gives way to a boat proceeding under sail, even if it is coming from port. A sailboat procee- ding under motor gives way to the motor boat coming from starboard. Right of way

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