SY was a sailing yacht operated by the Academic Maritime Association () of which experienced a structural failure in the Bay of on 3 August 1948, killing four people out of its crew of five in a failed evacuation.
Ship information The yacht was a small, single-masted sloop, launched in a German shipyard in 1914. Further details about the ship are uncertain, but by 1948, it was operated by the aforementioned Academic Maritime Association, a sailing club organized by the students of the University of Technology.
Final voyage and incident On 3 August 1948, the was sailing under normal circumstances during a sailing camp event. Its crew of five consisted entirely of students, those being , , , , and . At 20:00, whilst about from the shore, the crew decided to return to . However, whilst turning back, a part of the keel suddenly detached, taking a ballast tank down along with it.
The yacht then rapidly tipped over. The crew, in violation of common maritime practice, decided not to stay onboard and call for help, but instead made the decision to evacuate the ship on makeshift rafts. The cold water led to three members of the crew dying of hypothermia whilst sailing to the shore—, , and . After 15 hours at sea, the two survivors, and , were taken out of the water. died while in the hospital, rendering the incident's only survivor.
Aftermath The did not sink, and remained adrift until washing up on the shore of the Vistula Spit. A monument was later erected in front of the Fortress in memory of the tragedy.
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