On 4 July 1949 "Britannic" rescued two Estonian refugees in mid-Atlantic. They had built a sailing yacht called "Felicitas", begun their voyage from the Baltic coast of the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, followed the coast of Europe to northern Spain, and then tried to cross the Atlantic to Canada. On 1 July "Felicitas" auxiliary motor had failed, and at some point her mast had been broken by heavy seas. On 4 July "Felicitas" was about west of Ireland when her crew sighted "Britannic" and attracted her attention by firing distress flares. Her Master said that about an hour after the rescue fog closed in, in which "Felicitas" and "Britannic" would have been unable to see each other.