Beachcombing runs in the blood of the people of Terschelling. When a heavy storm hits, eyes quickly turn to the shoreline. Throughout history, the sea has brought many things to the island – a source of goods and powerful tales.

It is October 6, 1905. A fierce autumn storm lashes the North Sea. The wind howls around the houses, foam crests crash over the dunes, and among the islanders the beachcomber’s instinct awakens. Everyone knows: when the sea roars, something will wash ashore. But no one could have imagined that this morning would turn into one of the most remarkable rescue operations in the island’s history.

Early on, men with horses and carts gather on the beach. Several ships are in distress. Rumour has it that one vessel has lost a large cargo of timber – a tempting prize. But then, through the foam and mist, another ship appears on the horizon. A massive three-masted vessel heading straight for the shore.

It is the Norwegian three-master Cyprian, en route from Glasgow to Aarhus with a cargo of coal. The storm has battered the ship, leaving it leaking and rudderless. The fourteen-man crew tries to hold course, but the sea has other plans.

At pole 7, the Cyprian runs aground. The hull sticks fast, but the deck breaks loose and drifts eastward, with all fourteen Norwegians clinging to it. From the beach, the islanders watch the masts snap one by one, like matchsticks in the storm. Within minutes, the ship lies in three pieces. Everyone holds their breath.

The lifeboat from Midsland, led by skipper Jan Thijssen (Pals), is launched. But it is hopeless: timber floats everywhere, and the surf is merciless. The boat springs a leak and must return. The men aboard the Cyprian are helpless, only a few dozen meters from shore, soaked, freezing… waiting for rescue or the sea.

When all hope seems lost, two men on horseback ride into the waves: A.V. Spanjer and A. Roggen. Risking their lives, they face the icy breakers. One manages to seize a castaway and bring him ashore. Then comes Jan Kooyman, just twenty years old. He drives his horse through the roaring sea and manages to catch a rope thrown from the wreck. With this, a connection to the beach is made. Along the rope, the repaired lifeboat can reach the wreck and bring all Norwegians safely to land. A miracle, we still say today.

Only one crew member did not survive that day: the ship’s pig, which washed ashore dead at Formerum and was slaughtered there. The wreck of the Cyprian was later bought by farmer Jan Smit, who used the timber to build a farmhouse. That farmhouse still stands – now known as the Wreck Museum in Formerum.

The memory of this heroic deed lives on in the Cyprian Race, a horse race on the beach at Midsland aan Zee. Some think it is just a competition, but for those who know the story, it is much more. It is a tribute to the horsemen who braved wind and waves, risking their lives.

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