Two dead, one missing in sailing yacht accident off Oostende

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A sailing yacht with six crew has capsized off the coast of Oostende. Three have been rescued, two found dead and one is still missing. The Dutch yacht "Capella" (1993 Frans Maas One-off) has been participating in the Light Vessel Race. The yacht was owned by yacht designer Frans Maas who was on board at the time of the accident.
 
The search for the missing crewman (18 yo) has been given up. It seems Frans Maas (79) was among those who did not survive. His grandson, who was on board at the time of the accident, has been rescued. Supposedly Capella lost its keel, wich would explain why no distress signals were received.

Frans Maas was a well known racing yacht designer from Breskens and the creator of many Standfast, C-yacht and Compromis designs.

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Binnenland/article/detail/3197727/2017/07/01/18-jarige-jongen-nog-steeds-vermist-na-kapseizen-zeiljacht-zoekactie-definitief-stopgezet.dhtml
 
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On the Ostend coast, a vessel with six detainees, Belgians and Dutchmen, was arrested on Saturday morning. Two of the people aboard were taken dead out of the water. One of the fatal victims is a well-known Dutch yacht builder from Breskens, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. Three others could be saved, one is still missing. It is a Dutch 18-year-old young man. At 21:00 on Saturday night, the search was stopped and this will not resume on Sunday.



© photo news.

© Benny Proot.
The Dutch sailing yacht Capella from Breskens captured at 8.30 with 6 crew members aboard, ten miles off the coast of Ostend. The shipwreck was only discovered after the afternoon when a nearby dredgers ship caught out of the water.

Two detainees were found dead, it is about seventies with Dutch nationality. Three others could be rescued from the hull of the ship. They were taken to the hospital in Bruges with a helicopter. One of them was undercooled.

A major search was taken to find the sixth crew member, an 18-year-old young man. Dutch rescue helicopters and boats also searched for this. All afternoon and evening were sought in the area around the sailing yacht. The entire area was searched. The pants of the young man were fought, but the drowning itself remained traceable. At about 21h22 it was decided to stop the search and not resume this Sunday. It seems that he also did not survive the drama.

Meanwhile, the identity of the suspects is known. Schipper Frans Maas (79) and Dutch crew member Freddy Franssens (70) died during the accident Saturday morning. This confirms the watersports association Breskens. Frans Maas is a famous yacht builder and renowned race sailor from Breskens, in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.

The missing young man is Dutchman Hannes Goegebeur (18). Maas' grandson Andreas Zwanenburg (17), Dutchman Robert Tan (53) and Belgian Jan Toussein (37) have been rescued and are in the hospital.

The crashed vessel is the Capella sailing yacht that carries under the Dutch flag and participated in The Vessel Race. That is a long distance race for sailing boats that started in Zeebrugge and organized by the Royal Hunting Club. When the race ended in the afternoon, one of the 23 participants had not signed up again. After a nearby ship took two people out of the water after the afternoon, it soon became apparent to the hikers of that hunt.
Rescue practice with royal couple canceled
Normally King Filip and Queen Mathilde would go to sea with some horsemen this afternoon to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Coastal Rescue Service. However, the rescue mission on Middelkerke's coast was canceled due to the serious emergency situation at sea. Other planned activities that the king's couple would attend - such as a beach trip - could continue.
 
The sailing accident only came to light in the afternoon, when a dredger two passengers out of the water. SA Frans Maas (79) and the Dutch crew member Freddy Fan (70) were killed, confirms watersportvereniging Breskens. Maas ' grandson Andreas Zwanenburg (17), Dutchman Robert Tan (53) and Belgian Jan Taleb (37) are saved. They were sitting on the hull of the capsized yacht and were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia. Cause the yacht is in the meantime brought into the port of Ostend. It was there isolated for further investigation. The three persons on Board that could be saved, are still heard yesterday evening. They explain that the keel of the boat would have been aborted. The research should show whether a defect to the kiel indeed the accident caused, and if there are any other damage. 18-year-old missing the Dutchman Hannes Galan (18) is still missing in the sea. Yesterday, Belgian and Dutch rescue services throughout the afternoon and evening searching but at sunset they could not locate the body. The search is halted to 21.22 hours, without further clues of the missing young man. The search is today no more

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1901/reisn...en-van-reddingsactie-op-zee-vrijgegeven.dhtml
 
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Extremely sad.
Frans Maas was a well known yacht designer and a very experienced racing skipper. His yacht Capella was a one off and had sailed lots of races.
Conditions at the time of the accident were NW F6, Nothing boat and crew could not have coped with. The area where the accident happened is not a dangerous spot, not a place where seas will break in these conditions.
Why the keel fell off, is yet to be determined. The yacht has been recovered, hopefully that will give some clues.
 
Minn said:
Very sad.

My second thought on reading this was "clouted the tail of a bank", but I don't know exactly where it happened.
Click to expand...
That is perfectly possible, but not where the accident happened. There is not such a shallow bank where they were found.
But who is to say what happened to the boat in the days or weeks previously? There will be a full and official enquiry. We'll see what that brings.
 
Fishermen found the body of a young sailor from Terneuzen on Thursday night. The eighteen year old young man had been missing since the sail crash two weeks ago before Ostend. The fishermen met the physical surplus on the coast of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. The Dutch police reported Friday that research has shown that it is indeed about the young sailor. His family is informed.
The accident with a sailing yacht happened during a match for the Flemish coast. At the height of Oostende, the vessel struck down after the keel broke down. Two other Dutch bewoners, men aged 70 and 79 from Breskens, came to life.

A large-scale search for the missing boy from Terneuzen produced nothing. The emergency services immediately assumed that he had been killed. Three survivors were rescued.

Following the question of Secretary-General Philippe De Backer, the exact incident of the accident with the Capella sailing yacht is still under investigation by the Federal Maritime Research Institute (FOSO). Depending on the outcome, the Belgian government wishes to see if it is necessary to adjust the rules for pleasure craft.

Schipper Frans Maas, the oldest victim, was a famous figure in the sailing world. He was not only a highly experienced sailor, but also a famous designer and builder of sailing ships. The Capella was also designed by Maas. To the best of our knowledge there were no problems with the ship when departing.

The parcel of West Flanders, Bruges department does not currently conduct a criminal investigation into the boat accident. The possible responsibility would be with the skipper, but due to his death, the criminal proceedings have expired. The parquet still states that, as opposed to his brother, the found Zeeuwse sailor was not registered as a crew of the sailboat. During the game the skipper would not have followed the prescribed route.

The Dutch justice may have to investigate the accident. In the meanwhile, they came to Zeebrugge to take pictures of the vessel.
 
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