Brig Fryderyk Chopin
Update: UK coast guard: Polish teen sailors safe after their ship loses both masts
A group of teenage sailors whose ship was drifting at sea after it lost both masts in gale-force winds is safe from harm, coast guards said Friday, and the vessel was to be towed to a British port for repairs.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said that the Fryderyk Chopin, a tall ship used to train young Polish sailors, is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Britain’s Isles of Scilly. The crew of 47 is mostly made up of 14-year-old cadets.
There have been no injuries reported and the Royal Navy has stood down their search and rescue helicopters, which are returning to base.
The brig Fryderyk Chopin, a Polish sail training ship with 47 aboard, lost one of its two masts during a severe gale this morning off the Isles of Scilly.
Fryderyk Chopin, Polish Training Vessel, loses mast
A Polish registered Sail Training Vessel ‘Fryderyk Chopin’ is awaiting assistance after losing one of its two masts 99 miles south west of the Isles of Scilly.
The master of the vessel has requested immediate assistance at 8:03am, stating they were in danger of losing their second mast and was currently experiencing severe weather conditions of Severe Gale Force 9.
Falmouth Coastguard put out a broadcast to shipping for assistance and 3 vessels are currently on route the Container Vessel ‘Andromodar’, Bulk Carrier ‘Cornelia’ which are both 6 hours away and a large Fishing Vessel ‘Nova Spirro’ which is expected on scene in 12 hours. Rescue helicopter 193 from RNAS Culdrose is on standby on the Isles of Scilly.
Might I suggest that with such young cadets the training could have been completed in the Baltic or southern North Sea. This way if the weather freshened, as it did, there are a variety of ports and places to seek shelter. The weather forecasts clearly showed uncertain weather. At 14 average age for the cadets this was not good planning. May one suggest a revision of this programme to safer areas.
Good Watch.
Let’s hope a lot of rethinking is done after incident like this. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
They were underway to the Caribnean and were actually hoping get out of the Baltics and the North Sea to clear Europe before the winter weather sets in. The Captain is like 100 years old and spent his whole life sailing and most of it on this very vessel. He was in command of her during the rounding of Cape Horn in 1998… it was bad luck but it is commendalbe that nobody got hurt. Lets hope there will be no more damage to the vessel
CAPT. Dobrogowski: This is all very well but it is late in the year to be sailing with such young cadets. The ship could have sheltered until the weather improved. There is an posting in NAUTICAL LOG which you might like to read and comment on.
Good Watch.
CAPT.Boucher: I want to thank you for your post in Nautical Log which I read with great interest.
I should clarify perhaps that by describing the Master of Fryderyk Chopin as a 100 year old I meant that he is a man of profound experience with this ship and with this type of programme. It is hard to imagine a more suitable captain for this kind of job and the fact that nobody was hurt, not only in this incident but throughout the whole outstanding career of this man, is a testimony to this fact. While I feel it is way too early to pass any judgment at all on what happened on the Chopin, I must draw your attention to the fact that the confined, congested waters of the North Sea and the Baltic might have proven deadly for a dismasted and drifting vessel. With their choppy seas, heavy traffic and numerous offshore installations to collide with I don’t think I would have felt any safer in the North Sea and the Baltics then out in the open waters of the Atlantic with plenty of room to drift and/or maneuver. Both captain and the ship have been checked throughout the years the programme has been run (31 if I am not mistaken) – before I dare to comment any further, I feel it is best to wait till we know what actually happened.
Following the above logic one respectfully rests ones case.
Good Watch.
I think Jan Dobrogowski has got it absolutely right. In such a situation searoom is the most valuable asset you can have. The dismasting could just as easily have occurred in the dangerous waters of the North Sea or the Baltic, with at least the same potential for disaster, which thankfully did not happen. I sense a whiff of “health and safety”.
Gavin Barr
Sir as a Cape Horner I should like to say that rough and very rough conditions can be met anywhere in the world I was in the brigantine Soren Larsen to Cape Horn in November 1991 when we were becalmed in the roaring forties for 10 days at 166 degrees`E’. in April of 2001 in the true brigantine Eye of The Wind we were 22 days out of Bermuda to the Channel we met even worse weather than at Cape Horn, one night with all 28 of us on deck we could not bring the mains`l boom and gaff over so ran with it being driven towards Brest. Capt Tiger Timbs had us on deck after the passage to say it was the worse weather he had seen and that was April. I was with John Cluett in the Jacques Cartier a Brigantine in 1986 when we left Guernsey in April it snowed out on Biscay we had to put into Corruna the weather being so bad we were going nowhere. You may always chose when you sail but cannot chose the weather. These youngsters had an experienced crew to support them and I believe captain Baranovski at they head in a well found ship. The British rescue services did their job well and were ably assisted The Brig lost her Bowsprit fore top mast and main topmast. in the old days crew would have cut away this rig over the side and ran in on a jury rig. her fore and main courses seemed to be in place. although it is very difficult without any headgear. I have written up many stories of just such incidents in the days of commercial sail for the Journal of the Cape Horner Assocciasion which I edit.
the European School of Law and Administration (owner of The Polish vessel, The Fryderyk Chopin) is providing education/learning service (High School/University) within The United Kingdom without permits or registered Business or recorded income activity hence isn’t paying UK tax since 2008
European School of Law and Administration provides the learning/educational service in rented conference rooms at addresses indicated below:
The Polish Social & Cultural Association Ltd
238-246 King Street, Hammersmith London W6 ORF
Ms Anna Banasiuk tel. 0044 773 58 375
Ms Dagmara Paduszyńska tel. 0044 773 733 11 13 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0044 773 733 11 13 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
e.mail: londyn@ewspa.edu.pl
—————————————————————————–
Ekspress Holiday Inn London
PARK ROYAL in NORTH ACTON
Victoria Road, Nord Acton
London,
W3 6 UP
—————————————————————————–
Novotel LONDON West,
1 Shortlands, Hammersmith,
London
W6 8DR
—————————————————————————–
Dublin
Mr Maciej Furtas
tel. 00 353 872 621 874 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 353 872 621 874 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; 00 353 870 908 540
e.mail:macfeer@interia.eu
Mr Rafał Zabłocki
tel. 00353 863 420 801 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00353 863 420 801 end_of_the_skype_highlighting between 12pm-8pm
e.mail:dublin@ewspa.edu.pl
——————————————————————————
Glasgow
Mr Mariusz Kołodziej
tel. 0044 785 72 18 518 after 6pm
e.mail: glasgow@ewspa.edu.pl
—————————————————————————-
MANCHESTER
Mr Bartosz Maj
tel. 0044 7842 771 441,
e-mail: manchester@ewspa.edu.pl
Tel. +44 0871 222 0017 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 0871 222 0017 end_of_the_skype_highlighting;
fax +44 0871 222 7704