Vincent Regenhardt
In 2017, SAGA, a Nordic Folkboat launched in 1951, capsized and nearly sank during a class regatta in Flensburg Fjord, on the border between Germany and Denmark.
On a fair but chilly Sunday in September 2017, Vincent Regenhardt piloted his Nordic Folkboat, SAGA, out of a marina and into the Flensburg Fjord, a 16-nautical-mile inlet straddling the border of Germany and Denmark, for a race. The wind had been building, but Vincent was fully confident in his boat’s seaworthiness, and he had been sailing SAGA all his life. “A Folkboat cannot capsize,” he told his crew.
The three sailors were as exhilarated as always when SAGA heeled to the breeze as she sailed close-hauled at the start. On the day’s final leg, they were again close-hauled when she heeled alarmingly to port, putting the gunwale under water; in quick succession, before they knew what was happening, the cockpit flooded, she downflooded through the open companionway, and the mast and sails hit the water.