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After more than a year stranded by storm Dana on August 14, 2024, the Helisara finally failed to survive the violent westerly winds of November 2025. The result was disastrous: thousands of fragments of fiberglass, plastic and building materials scattered in the waters of the Parc Naturel de ses Salines.
Delayed intervention
The local authorities had indicated their willingness to take charge of the removal of the sailboat, with the aim of invoicing the costs to the owners, who had been identified but remained inactive. In April 2025, Environment Councillor Verònica Castelló announced the removal of the two boats stranded in the area before the summer. If the sailboat Scipio1924 was withdrawn in early July, Helisara remained on the rocks, with the authorities citing the technical complexity of the operation and high costs as obstacles to a rapid response.
Weather-related damage
Violent winds finally disintegrated the boat, scattering its debris in the sea and along the coastline of the Parc Naturel de ses Salines. The case of Helisara raises the question of wreck management on sensitive coastlines. The situation had been known for over a year, and the risks associated with the vessel's progressive deterioration had been identified. The lack of intervention has led to what many observers feared: the dispersal of waste at sea in a protected area.
A name steeped in history
The yacht was named after a famous line of boats owned by Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan. Between the 1960s and 1980s, Karajan built several racing yachts named Helisara which have made their mark on the great Mediterranean regattas.
Of the 27 boats beached in the August 2024 gale on Formentera, two have still not been removed.
