Kurt, a young apprentice in a fishing commune and a member of the Technology and Sport Association, enters a race to show his maritime skills.
Kurt and Hannes sail with skipper Laue on one of the collective's boats, SAS 181.
However, they both realize that he intends to reach the Danish isle of Bornholm and defect to the West.
The film was the first in the history of East Germany to portray the pre-military youth training organization known as the Technology and Sport Association (GST).
[2] Heinz Kersten noted that the theme of "fleeing from the republic" - a common feature in East German films, which showed a person leaving the GDR for the West, grow disillusioned and sometimes commit suicide - was present in the plot of the SAS 181 as well.