A Non-Rescue at Sea

4 August 2026 – Alicante, España – I was awakened in the middle of the night by a very bright light that seemed to glow orange – I thought J had turned on her small reading light, but this light was very brief, as well as being the wrong color.  When we got up in the morning, I asked J if she had turned on her light during the night, but no, she didn’t.  She said she felt weird movement during the early hours of the morning, as if someone was pushing her bed from one side or the other.  Well!  Turns out the light was a distress flare!  And our ship spent several hours sitting with the small boat that sent out the distress signal, until the official Spanish rescue team arrived!  Our ship made a dramatic non-rescue at sea!  I’ll type out the letter (and announcement) from our captain, and then the letter of commendation from the Spanish Search and Rescue people which is much more flowery than our Dutch captain’s very dry and factual incident report.  Both letters are at the end of this blog.

So once it was barely light out, there was the announcement on the PA system, telling us about the non-rescue event.  Basically this was to notify all guests that we’d be arriving in Alicante two hours late.  The staff were all busily rearranging tours and excursions, although people with non-ship excursions might have been out of luck.  However, the captain also announced that we’d be staying until 10 PM, roughly six hours longer than previously scheduled.  I thought perhaps this was due to the tides, such as we might need to sail midway between high and low tides.  I found some junior officers, and asked – no, it was just to keep guests happy since some people like to stay later at ports, and since we were arriving late, they thought this might help mollify the guests.

J and I took the ship’s shuttle in to town, and walked to the entrance for the Medieval/Renaissance fort Castella de Santa Barbara.  There’s a long walk through an underground tunnel to a couple of elevators that go up through the solid rock hill some 500 feet tall (160ish meters) – free for jubilados (retired people) like us.

The reason the era of this fort is mixed is that it was originally built by Muslims from North Africa in the 9^th century, when the Iberian Peninsula was controlled by the Muslims.  In 1296 the Castilian forces captured the fort, which eventually led to the Spanish regaining all of Spain (and Portugal, which became a separate nation years later).  And of course there were renovations and more building over the years.  So parts of the fort are Medieval Moorish design, and other sections are Renaissance in style.

The first room after the elevator was full of shields.  There wasn't any information other than a single name under each shield, but since I always like anything artsy, I took a photo of each one.  My guess is these are (or were) important families, or perhaps regions under the auspices of the medieval rulers of Alicante.  And that each shield shows the emblem of that family or region.  Definitely heraldic symbols, though, given that each features some sort of emblem.   

From the height of the battlements, we had gorgeous views of the town of Alicante as well as the Mediterranean beyond, and the general flat and arid topography surrounding the region.  We wandered around a bit, exploring one section of the fort.  It seemed to go on and on in all directions, which was a bit overwhelming in the heat of mid-day.  But we enjoyed our time on the battlements (which are the walkways along fort or castle edges that are crenellated – the straight-walled walkways are parapets – this answers my previous question about parapets and battlements!). 

Eventually we decided it was getting too hot up on the top of this giant rocky hill, so we headed back down.  As our elevator descended, the young man operating it announced that they had pickpockets today, so we should check that we had all our belongings.  We were all okay, but what a thing to announce as we’re nearly down to ground level again!

Because it was so bright and sunny, we decided to walk down the street one block inland from the beach, because it was shadier than the beach road (and much less full of vehicles and pedestrians!).  We found a fabulous place for lunch, El Gusto del Gourmet, with delicious tapas, perfect for a light lunch.  I had the Andalusian gazpacho (which tasted like normal gazpacho), and a tortilla español (small omelette full of sliced potato).  J had a seafood salad that looked great, other than the squid and octopus.  And the requisite bottle of aqua con gas – sparkling water. 

Photos of the pedestrian promenade with alternating rippling lines of off white, red, and black tiles – it really is quite trippy looking, because those wavy lines create an optical illusion.  But the wide sidewalk really is level, not undulating waves the way it appears!

There also was this odd statue on the walk to and from the port.  He was smiling facing the pedestrian promenade, and looked like he was directing traffic.  But since sculpture is three-dimensional, I always try to walk around statues – and this little guy had four faces, one in each direction!  I tried getting a photo of the info plaque, but it was very confusing and I'm not sure if the artist's name is even included.

By then, it was mid-afternoon.  Back to the shuttle, then the ship for a shower.  Touring in summer is hot work! 

Fortunately, it was a normal uneventful night!  (The chocolate dessert is a chocolate tulip – dark chocolate mixed with cream and I suspect a a bit of gelatin to hold the tulip shape.  Set on a small round of dark chocolate flourless cake.  YUM!)

Okay, the letter from the Oosterdam captain:

CAPTAIN'S ANNOUNCEMENT - ALICANTE

During the night, while enroute, we observed a parachute flare distress signal and SOS light signals on our track to Alicante.  In accordance with International Maritime obligations and our duty to render assistance to persons in distress, we slowed down to investigate the situation.

Upon arrival, we identified a small vessel carrying 13 persons.  While they were not found to be in immediate danger requiring evacuation or rescue by our ship, the distress signals and circumstances required us to remain on scene and report the situation to the relevant authorities.

We informed the Spanish Search and Rescue authorities, who instructed us to maintain our position until their search and rescue vessel arrived and assumed responsibility for the case.  We complied with these instructions and remained in the area until released by the authorities at 05:06 AM.

[And the letter continues to explain we'll arrive late, stay later, what happens with excursions, and apologies.]

Thank you for your understanding, patience, and cooperation, and have a good day in Alicante.

Regards,

[signed by our captain]

 

And then the response from the Centro Regional de Coordinación de Salvamento de Valencia 

To the Attention of the Master and Crew of OOSTERDAM,

We are writing this letter to express our deepest gratitude and highest commendation for your prompt and exemplary action taken earlier today.

Following the request for cooperation issued by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Valencia) at 00:40 utc on the 04th of August 2026, your crew demonstrated outstanding readiness by immediately assisting in the search and location of a vessel in urgency situation.

Your professionalism, seamanship, and strict adherence to the finest traditions of the international maritime community were crucial in safeguarding human life at sea.  Actions such as your reinforce the core values of solidarity among seafarers and honour the law of the sea.

We acknowledge that, upon successful completion of the requested assistance, M/V OOSTERDAM has officially resumed her voyage at 03:04 utc on the 04th of August 2026.

We kindly ask the Master to convey this heartfelt appreciation to every member of the crew.  We wish you fair winds and following seas on all your future voyages.

Sincerely, MRCC Valencia 

 

I love the final sentence of the Spanish letter.  It makes me feel like we're right in the middle of a "Pirates of the Caribbean" story, or perhaps "Treasure Island."