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German skipper along with fellow crew rescued after catamaran capsized

The skipper Andre Engelhardt, 32, from Hooksiel was rescued from a life raft 150 nautical miles northwest of Aruba on Jan 6, 2025, along with three other crew members of the "Second Wind", which had capsized en route from the British Virgin Islands to Panama as part of a transfer. The crew had to wait in the rubber raft for five hours until they were rescued. The Coastguard of the Dutch Antilles initially had sent a patrol aircraft to the scene after receiving a distress call. Its pilots discovered the life raft and the catamaran floating upside down. They requested a helicopter, which was able to hoist the sailors aboard and bring them to Curaçao. The patrol aircraft had remained on site to monitor the life raft and provide support until the helicopter arrived. The Maritime Operations Center has since sent a Navtex message to all ships in the region to warn of the catamaran, which had got in distress after the escape hatch on the starboard hull of the eight-year-old Lagoon 42 came loose due to rough sea. All attempts to close the hatch again failed. The hull filled with water and the catamaran capsized as a result. The four crew members managed to detach the life raft from the boat and deflate it. At the time of the accident, there was a gusty wind of 30 to 35 knots and the sea was around 3,5 metres high. Report with photos: https://www.curacaochronicle.com/post/local/coast-guard-rescues-survivors-from-sunken-catamaran/