The lost fisherman in the Great Belt

July 2013.

The location is Slipshavn (School), right out site of Nyborg, at the Great Belt of Denmark.

The National Naval Homeguard was haveing it's yearly "Education Week" where countless people across the country comes for a week with nothing else the education and courses... that was the main thought nevertheless.

I personally was on one of the Navys Navigations courses in my education to become commander of the ship.

The first couple of days at the school went smoothly and the weather was really good, sunny clear skies and no win, the water where almost at the right tampeture for a swim, if you are a bit shy of the cold.

All the courses where running, everyone was more or less happy and sweathy from learning.

But all of that was soon to be ended.

In the midway of the week, bad weather rulled over the country, strong cold wins. All the courses had to be moved inside, and all of the tents outsite where fasten.

For me I didn't really feel much of it, becuse the course I was on, the navigation one, was inside a building, so out sea charts wouldn't get wet or dirty.

All of the sudden, a Sergent opened the door and yelled: "WE GOT A SAR".

(Search and Rescue = SAR)

Just in the same second he said that, we all stod up immidiatly and started running towards the naval ships that where at Slipshavn.

We all scattered across Slipshavn to fill up as many ships as possible. I my self got onboard the MHV 813 Baunen. And within 10 min. Slipshavn launced a fleet of 8 ships out in the storm, after something or whoever made the distress call. 

We didn't knew when we went out of the harbor. All we knew, was a location we needed to go to, and we was soon to find out, that this was not just another Search and Rescue.

While the fleet was steaming down south of Slipshavn, along site "Langeland" we got inform of a Fisherman's boat was found on a beach with the engine running... without the fisherman him self.

The Police had started a search along the coast, while the National Naval Homeguard, Danish Navy, Danish Sea Rescue, Danish Air force and a dusin other commercial ships where invovled in the search.

However, the bad weather conditions where pretty bad.

Onboard the MHV 813 Baunen I Assuemed command of the ship and prepared the ship for anything.

Despie the ship was empty of fresh water, and had only fuel to around 20 hours of search, we litteraly where a plug on the bad sea of "The Great Belt".

The ship tilted up to 50 degress from port to star port and everything that wasn't fasten inside the ship... was not in 1 peice afterwards.

For whole 12 hours, we all got thrown around the ship in an attempt to search for the missing fishermen.

During the search, we did pick up a signal from a beacon in the middle of no where, that could possible have been him... however we pinpointed the beacon... but found nothing but water.

Despite the little hope there where for the fishermen, we still keept on searching.

After the 12 hour search, the SAR was called off from Command, without finding any trace of the missing fisherman.

Once again, the sea swallows a persons life.

8 National Naval Homeguard ships where in the search... All crew members where Volenteers, and does not need any payments.

2 ships from the Danish Navy.

1 ship from the Danish Sea Rescue.

2 Helicopters from the Danish Air Force.

And commercial ships passing by in the area.

And mostly, the local fishermen that knew the missing fishermen joined the rescue as well. In a search against all the odds in the rough seas.