On Wednesday, August 14, a powerful storm with wind gusts of up to 74 knots caused chaos in the Balearic Islands. The main blow of the elements fell on Ibiza and Formentera. That day, the storm reached its maximum intensity - many yachting infrastructure facilities, as well as yachts, were damaged. Many yachts were simply washed ashore.
Even now, two days later, the situation remains tense – the waves are quite strong, and the gusts of wind are unsafe for sailing yachts. Rescue services are working on the scene. Now all efforts are focused on raising the sunken yachts, relocating the boats thrown ashore and searching for possible victims.
The Balearic Islands Coast Guard warns: "The situation remains very dangerous. We advise sailors and yachtsmen not to go to sea for the time being. Check the condition of your boats as soon as the weather conditions allow." Damage has been caused to almost all yachts on the islands without exception. Thus, among the damaged yachts was the expensive yacht Wally, worth 4 million euros.
Serious questions are being raised on social media and forums about why skippers failed to prepare for the storm. Navtex radio services issued timely warnings of the impending danger, but yachtsmen do not seem to have taken these messages seriously enough. You can see the result in the video.
Updated (08/17/2024): Information about the timely notification of a possible storm could not be confirmed. If you know more about the situation, please write in the comments under this post in our Telegram channel.
Updated (19.08.2024): A warning from the Spanish authorities was indeed received shortly before the storm began.
16.08.2024
