On the occasion of the christening of the ship during the exhibition in the Neustadt marina, Nenad Kapuc, who manages the destiny of SeaHelp Ostsee GmbH, left no doubt that with the new mission boat, a new chapter in SeaHelp history would be opened. More members and increased numbers of assignments meant that SeaHelp employees had to spend more and more time on the water. A fixed cabin has become indispensable to protect the employees, especially under the harsh conditions that prevail in the Bay of Lübbeck.
Even though SeaHelp is undergoing major technical upgrades, SeaHelp boss Wolfgang Dauser, who came from Austria especially for the ship’s christening, makes it clear: “SeaHelp is not in competition with the DGzRS, we are limiting ourselves to providing purely technical assistance. We have nothing to do with classic rescue operations, we deliberately set ourselves apart from them. In general, he praises the German skippers at the Baltic Sea: “After our experiences with skippers at other bases, Baltic skippers have mastered seamanship almost perfectly. This is not least due to the fact that probably most of them grew up on the water and are better able to assess the dangers”.
But if technology still plays a trick on them, there’s always SeaHelp. The new 4.8-ton emergency boat is equipped with everything necessary to get most skippers back on the water in the event of a breakdown. Starting aid, fuel, tools and the most common spare parts are on board as well as extensive towing equipment, so that even large yachts can be hooked up.
However, the SeaHelp app for all current smartphone models remains the linchpin of the SeaHelp experience at all bases, with a range of functions that is constantly being expanded. It can serve as a useful tool not only for members but also for non-members when quick help is needed at sea: pinpoint positioning and immediate request for help via SMS with the position coordinates even without an Internet connection, weather warnings via push service to the respective terminals, simple sea charts with important information and of course immediate contact via telephone to the SeaHelp operations center make the app an indispensable tool for all skippers in the regions supported by SeaHelp.
Impressions of the boat christening:
