Eny Dreblow christened the new lifeboat with the words "I christen you Eva Ahrens-Thies and wish you and your crew a safe journey and a safe return home at all times". The eight-year-old is the granddaughter of the foreman of the Ueckermünde station, Manfred Fastnacht. Her father Denny Fastnacht is also a sea rescuer. He works on the rescue cruiser BERTHOLD BEITZ/station Greifswalder Oie. Eva Ahrens-Thies is on duty at the easternmost DGzRS station, Ueckermünde, together with the rescue boat GERHARD TEN DOORNKAAT.

Closely connected to the sea for life

Eva Ahrens-Thies had generously bequeathed to the sea rescuers in her estate and thus made the construction of the new rescue boat possible. "We are extremely grateful for this, as it puts us in a position to equip our volunteers with a modern new vessel and give them the best possible chance of success in their sometimes dangerous missions," said Gerhard Harder, honorary chairman of the DGzRS, at the naming ceremony.

The lawyer and judge Eva Ahrens-Thies grew up in Oldenburg (Oldb). She obtained her sailing license in 1979. Water sports on the coast and at sea, as well as many trips to and across the sea, shaped her life.

Volunteer sea rescuers from the neighboring stations of Freest and Zinnowitz also came to Ueckermünde for the traditional naming ceremony of the Eva Ahrens-Thies with the rescue boats HEINZ ORTH and HECHT. Two accordionists from the Seegrund Ahlbeck shanty choir near Ueckermünde provided the musical backdrop.

History of the Ueckermünde station

The town on the Szczecin Lagoon is one of the newest sea rescue stations. The DGzRS, which was founded 155 years ago, set it up in 1992. 15 volunteer sea rescuers led by foreman Manfred Fastnacht work on a voluntary basis at Germany's easternmost sea rescue station. Their territory includes the challenging Szczecin Lagoon in the German-Polish estuary of the Oder and Peene rivers, as well as the Peene River as far as the port city of Wolgast. The weather there often changes within a few minutes, and a short, steep wave builds up at wind speeds of 4 to 5 Beaufort.

The German-Polish border divides the Szczecin Lagoon into the Little Lagoon and the Great Lagoon. Cross-border missions are not uncommon for the volunteer sea rescuers, and cooperation with their Polish colleagues is close. Commercial and recreational shipping characterize the shipping traffic in the area. This also includes inland waterway vessels that cross the Oder and call at ports in the lagoon.

The key data of the new rescue boat:

- Overall length: 8.90 meters

- Overall width: 3.10 meters

- Draft: 0.88 meters (0.65 meters with the engines folded in shallow water)

- Displacement: 3.2 tons

- Speed: 38 knots (approx. 70 km/h)

- Crew: Volunteers

- Drive: Yamaha FL200G, Yamaha F200G, 200 hp each

The so-called Rigid Buoyancy Boat (RBB) achieves its buoyancy through its rigid, lightweight hull itself, without an inner tube. The maneuverability, towing characteristics and stability of the all-plastic boat are exceptionally good, and suction and wave impact are low.