The storm had been announced for days -Code Red in the wind forecast charts. Appointments were rescheduled, the car was packed the evening before and many a branch was dodged on the road on the way from Kiel to Dazendorf. The Kiel lighthouse was already reporting winds of over 40 knots and gusts of up to 60 knots in the morning. The first view of the Baltic Sea from the hill finally catapulted my anticipation level to the highest level: solid Baltic Sea waves broke over the sandbank, the first backloops were screwed into the grey sky - everything seemed to be set for a really good storm day on the Baltic Sea.
The euphoria lasts until I open the tailgate. Instead of the 3.7, I accidentally packed the 4.5 next to my 4.0 when packing. The fact that my mate Klaus is tugging at his 3.4 and a few metres further on Leon Jamaer is wavering between 3.5 and 3.7 while setting up the sail doesn't exactly improve my mood. After a few curses, I pull my 4.0 flat and plunge into the three-degree Baltic Sea. I'm at the limit for a few strokes, then the wind god actually takes pity on me and, contrary to the forecast, drops a few knots.
With a handful of fellow travellers, we get to enjoy Dazendorf at its best for a few hours. Steep ramps break above the sandbank, over which you can chase yourself into the grey sky. If you dare, you can also use the beach break for turns or wave moves - here the wave really sucks in on the shallow sandbank and breaks hollow into the knee-deep water. This doesn't bother people like Leon, of course, who routinely twists his entire World Cup repertoire with tight carved cutbacks and wave 360s into the hollow breaking waves.
Contrary to the forecast, the wind on this day was actually a few knots weaker than predicted, which I chalked up to a six in the surf lottery. And so (luckily) it wasn't the big storm, but simply a beautiful day on the Baltic Sea. You can see the pictures of the day in the photo gallery at the beginning of the article.
