Liebe unter weißen Segeln (2001)

The married captain of the sailing training ship Albatros, Gregor Simonis, and Navy staff physician Dr. Karen Stendal are having a secret affair. When Gregor’s ship’s doctor falls ill, Karen seizes the opportunity and has herself assigned to the Albatros as the doctor’s replacement. Contrary to expectations, Gregor gives his lover a cool reception and remains strangely reserved in the days and weeks that follow. The captain repeatedly points out that he is a married man and must set an example for the crew. But Karen senses that these are just excuses. After all, Gregor’s marriage has existed only on paper for some time. In Dunkirk, journalist Thomas Sand comes aboard the Albatros to write a report about women in the Navy. At the same time, Petty Officer Brengel is vying for the attractive ship’s doctor’s affections. During the two-day shore leave in Lisbon, the officer candidate presses Karen so persistently that she flees to a restaurant, where she happens to run into Sand. Karen pretends she has a date with Sand; Brengel believes her and keeps his distance from then on. After the evening at the restaurant, Karen and Sand grow closer at a hotel. As the Albatros continues its voyage and Gregor suffers a fall, Karen learns the real reason for his aloofness from an X-ray: Gregor has an inoperable brain tumor and only a short time to live. Karen tells him that she is pregnant with his child, but because of his unbearable pain, Gregor throws himself over the railing one night. Sand takes on the role of the child’s father, and he and Karen become a couple. Under the new captain, Hannes Meier, previously the first officer, Karen remains the Albatros’s ship’s doctor.