The surf gear, sound box and sleeping bags are packed. The plan: leave for Büsum after work on Monday evening, spend the night somewhere and spend Tuesday surfing, surfing, surfing. After a quick detour to Aldi, I set off on the motorway, heading north. The mood is buoyant and I enjoy the feeling of freedom with my newly passed driving licence.
At around 11 p.m. and with daylight fading, we roll into a car park and come to a halt behind a small row of trees. We toast to the start of our first surf trip together and look forward to a good session. It's a windless evening and after a while the midges force us into the car, a Caddy. The sleeping situation: two people in the front seats and one across the back rows of seats - expandable. After a few "lullabies" it gets quiet. Of course, nobody can really fall asleep, but after half an eternity our eyes fall shut.
Two people sleep in the front seats and one across the rear rows of seats - expandable."
Before surfing, go mudflat hiking
It feels like two hours later I wake up. It's already quite light outside. I look at the clock, 4:56 a.m. Damn! I try in vain to go back to sleep. After a long doze, I hear the first noises from my colleagues. It's now 7.30 a.m. and so we park in the right car park behind the Büsum dyke. After a hearty breakfast, we wait out a shower and look over the dyke. The wind seems to be slowly coming through and the contours of the first tideways are recognisable. So we get our sails out of the roof box and set up, 4.4 and 4.8. We slip into our Neos and set off.
After a long mudflat hike and a short time of cruising, we are finally in the Priel. The wind is still very light and I just manage to get myself going with a few pumps. Once gliding, I accelerate more and more and sail closer and closer to the edge of the mudflats, another 50 metres or so to Ben with the camera. I switch to switch, duck the sail and jump a burner right in front of the camera. It continues like this for the next hour: whoever needs a break grabs the camera and takes a few shots.
Bizarre backdrop for the first No Handed Burner
Later we are visited by two other windsurfers, the wind shifts a little and we head into another tidal inlet. The mud walls here are very steep and form a bizarre backdrop, perfect for taking a few more shots. I finally overcome my inhibitions and manage to jump a few one-handed moves.
As always, Ben doesn't think that's enough and wants me to jump a "no-handed burner". On my first attempt, I let the rig go its own way too early and smack backwards into the water. On the next attempt, the timing is perfect and I manage to waterstart out of the move. But Ben still has something to complain about: "Put both hands in the air properly, otherwise you won't see them." So I take another run-up and this time everything is just right.
Break, bolognese, surf on!
So we happily head off for our lunch break. A few portions of spaghetti Bolognese later, we lie down exhausted in the sun, which has just come out from behind the clouds, and take a nice midday nap. After about two hours, I'm woken from my dreams and a short time later I'm off in the car to the supermarket for a little refreshment. After that, nothing stands in the way of an evening session and we slip into our wetsuits again and enjoy three hours of perfect flat water and a rather cloudy sunset.
With the rest of the Bolognese from lunch and some penne, we have a good dinner and spend another night in the car. The next morning, the wind doesn't look as good as we had hoped. So after a moment's thought, we make the decision: Off home! And so ends our first mini surf trip to the flat water paradise of Büsum.
