SVN solovelanet

SVN Solovelanet Global that was later identified by her husband as Roswitha Gehrig's. The Federal Bureau asked for assistance to the Navy, that was coincidentally performing drills in that area with ships suitable for a recovery operation. Deern was retrieved. When brought to the surface, she looked like a toy broken by a whimsical child. She had split in three parts and it was possible to see where the ship had hit her, separating the bow from the central area. The forensics department found traces of blue paint not belonging to Deern, but unlike in American TV series, that was not enough to determine the name of the ship that had caused the accident. The investigators of the Federal Bureau found out that the navigation lights of Deern were working and their bulbs were 25 W instead of 10 W as required by the regulation, so the boat was certainly very visible even in the distance. In March 2004, the Bureau closed the inve - stigation with recommendations. Wolfgang Gehrig's behaviour was not challenged, he was right and the ship was to blame, but the report pointed out that the boat was not equipped with a radar deflector, an accessory that would have made her easier to intercept by the radar of the ship, and that the VHF was off, therefo- re, even if the ship had called, Deern's skipper would not have heard. Conclusions Wolfgang was on vacation with his wife. Now he is a lonely man and it was not his fault: he complied with the regulations and did what he had been taught, but there is always something to learn from the tragedies that the sea some- times claims. In this case, a good quality radar deflector and a switched on VHF with AIS system would have probably saved Mrs. Gehrig's life. If the bearing of the boat on a connecting route changes, you are not on a collision course If the bearing of the boat on a connecting route remains un- changed over time, it means that you are on a collision course. C ollision between two boats, or between a boat and a ship, is a permanent danger. The most serious problem is that it is difficult for a ship to spot a small sailboat. Fiberglass does not reflect the radar waves, therefore it is not easy for these instruments to detect the boat. To avoid collisions, you must always follow a few rules: a) even when proceeding on autopilot, a lookout must check on a regular basis what is in front of the boat; b) the boat must be equipped with a good quality radar reflector; c) the boat must be equipped with an AIS system; d) if you sight a ship or a boat, you will need to tar- get the object in order to find out if it is on a collision course or not. 40° 28° 45° 45° No collision course Danger - collision course Alessandro Balzani is a journalist from Alghero (Sardinia), where he lives sailing throughout the year. He is a racer and a Hobbie Cat 16 lover, and has been writing for SVN since 2016 The author Collision

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