Spots in this article:
There are supposed to be people who switch on their GPS device again in the car on the way home to see if it can even measure speeds over 30 knots - when windsurfing, it stubbornly refuses to display such times. The thing must be broken!
If you're travelling without technical aids and your goal is to finally glide through the jibe cleanly or to finally celebrate the popular power freestyle move with "power", the spot is the only scapegoat left: "Too choppy, too chaotic, how are you supposed to do a sensible manoeuvre?"!
Because it can't be the surfer's fault, it's time for the manoeuvre lab - spots where the choppy waves give way to a steady hiss and anything seems possible - every trick and top speeds like on the drive home in the car.
The Wadden Sea in particular offers world-class slopes, but there are also special spots on the Baltic Sea away from the well-known shallow-water strongholds such as Wulfen or the Wieker Bodden on Rügen. However, there is one disadvantage to all these top spots: If you surf slowly here or mess up your move, you have one less excuse afterwards.
NORDSEE
The mudflats with their tidal creeks and sandbanks are the promised land for speeders and freestylers. Tidal flat hikes including equipment are the price - but fortunately not everywhere.
Place 5: Büsum
"The best and currently fastest speed spot in Germany is Büsum," says Manfred Merle, speed surfer from Hanover. He should know. With SSW to SW winds, the water in the Priel is not only as smooth as Paris Hilton's legs, because the next obstacle is at least 30 kilometres away, the wind is also incredibly constant and often stronger than forecast over the sandbanks. Just two hours before and after high tide, the sandbanks are exposed and form the perfect piste for speeders and freestylers. Epic! Westerly winds are also good for tricks, but you should avoid the third and fourth hours before and after low tide as the currents are extremely strong then! The spot is only recommended for experienced windsurfers. The starting point is the car park at Neuenkoog behind the dyke in Stinteck.
It doesn't get any better than this! If you surf slowly here or mess up your freestyle trick, there are no excuses.
The wind statistics are excellent, even in the summer months 60 per cent of the time it blows at more than 12 knots. But because the tide and wind direction have to play along, we can't throw waves around here.
30 minutes of trudging in the mud and cruising through tideways - Büsum is no place to forget your harness on the shore or make a mistake with your choice of sail.
4th place: Meldorfer Speicherkoog
The home spot of many Hamburg flat water fans is Meldorf, more precisely the Speicher-koog to the west of the small town of 8,000 inhabitants. You are compensated for the bumpy ride through Dithmarschen with parking spaces right on the water's edge, and the spot conditions are very reasonable with the main wind directions from WSW to NW. Smooth spots for manoeuvres and short top-speed runs can also be found towards the shore, but a steep choppy wave quickly builds up in the middle area. Just ten metres from the shore, the water is deep enough for long slalom fins, which is why beginners (surf school at the spot), slalom heaters and the top tricksters of the German Freestyle Battle all meet here.
Not a spot for GPS runs and power freestyle in mirror-smooth water, but sometimes nice flat water near the shore. Plus: Safe and independent of the tide. Minus: You can sometimes taste the agricultural use of the area in the water.
Good wind quota with 40 per cent in summer, 60 per cent in March - but the wind window is rather small - hence only two stars.
It's less than 20 metres from the car park on the dyke to the water!
3rd place: Norderney South
Like all spots in the Wadden Sea, the spots on the south side of Norderney are very tide-dependent - with the difference that two options complement each other perfectly here. Around three hours before and after high tide, the large basin at the marina fills up. Although it is not as smooth as a speed slope, it is largely shallow and very safe - everything from south-west to east to north is possible here. The Norderney surf school also provides the perfect infrastructure. Around low tide, the sandbanks on the south side of the channel dry out, but getting there requires local knowledge - it's best to ask the surf instructors at the centre and never set off on your own. What awaits you then? A shallow water wonderland from S to SW - the height of the chop here is comparable to the length of local Bernd Flessner's hair.
Moderate chops in the basin, the sandbanks in the mudflats drop steeply and allow runs only a few handbreadths downwind of the sand. A speed, manoeuvring and freestyle slope par excellence!
The "surfing pool/sandbank" combination in conjunction with the good wind ratio (45 to 60 per cent) and the wide wind window is good for three stars.
The ten-minute walk through the mud, the crossing of the fairway and the tidal current are not for amateur surfers - hence only two stars. The pool, on the other hand, is easy to reach!
2nd place: Neuharlingersiel
Somehow this top spot in Lower Saxony has been forgotten - and in view of the spot conditions, one wonders: Why? Perhaps because many people don't even know the actual spot pearl of the village: Downwind of the harbour's three-kilometre-long jetty, you can push your freestyle skills through the roof in a westerly wind. Because it is deep enough here for longer fins and the jetty juts out far into the Wadden Sea, you can also do speed runs with your GPS. With an easterly wind, the whole programme is mirrored on the other side. Low tide to half tide is ideal, at high tide the waves spill over the pier and create choppy water. Then you can move to the main beach to the Windloop surf school, where there is also a beach bar. When the wind blows from south to south-west, the nearby Jade Bay offers great alternatives: from the pier in Eckwarderhörne, ambitious freestylers cross a few hundred metres through the fairway to the sandbanks that are then exposed to the west. Downwind of this, there is shallow water in the "not Büsum or Norderney, but pretty good" category - but only two hours before and after low tide. And what else? Hooksiel! Here you can park close to the spot, the campsite and infrastructure are at the start. W-NW wind is ideal, E-NE is also good.
1-a! The mole does a great job and smoothes out every crease, no matter how small. You just have to make friends with some of the kiters.
A wind window that covers the main wind directions west and east well and with 30 to 50 per cent gliding wind over the course of the year also an appealing quota.
Easy! Parking at the harbour and the distance is very limited compared to other Wadden Sea spots.
1st place: Borkum
Yes, Borkum is an island and not easily accessible. But that takes care of all the disadvantages! In contrast to many other world-class shallow water spots, you can surf here regardless of the tide and thanks to the almost circular shape of the "lagoon", you can surf directly downwind of the sandbank in virtually any wind direction. Chops only get lost here in homeopathic doses, so you can improve your manoeuvre, speed or freestyle level in fast motion. As the ambience and infrastructure are also top notch - accommodation and surf school are located directly at the spot - there can only be one winner this time: Borkum!
World class! And not just for trick skiers, but also for freeriders and intermediates.
SE winds are not really ideal, but the rest works great and the wind statistics are truly impressive - 50 per cent in summer, up to 75 per cent in winter - top values in Germany!
In contrast to other spots of comparable quality, the running here is limited and takes place over hard sand. Nevertheless, more than three stars would be too much of a good thing.
EAST SEA
Even away from the surf meccas on Fehmarn or the Wieker Bodden on Rügen, there are lesser-known spots on the Baltic Sea with a "learning guarantee". The fact that, unlike the North Sea spots, these are often still shallow and easily accessible makes it all the better.
Place 5: Salzhaff
Once an insider tip, the mostly shallow Salzhaff near Wismar has developed into one of the hot spots for windsurfers in eastern Germany. Especially on the south-eastern shore, in Pepelow, you are in perfect hands with the usual wind directions from south-west to north, then it blows onshore and constantly over the sheltered inland waters. The fact that it still remains fairly smooth is primarily due to the shallow water depth, although you do have to put up with a few chops. With S-SE winds, Rerik on the north-east shore is also a good choice; you don't have to do without the standing area, surf school and the charming landscape of the nature reserve here either.
Manageable chop, large standing areas and good infrastructure - this is the perfect place for trickers and freeriders. As at many spots, the seaweed gets in the way of speeding and slaloming in summer.
Many wind directions are possible on the Salzhaff, but the location in the Bay of Lübeck ensures that the planing wind rate of 20 to 40 per cent over the course of the year is somewhat more manageable than on Fehmarn or in the region around Rügen.
Highly recommended - here you can get on the water quickly and easily.
4th place: Saaler Bodden
Separated from the open Baltic Sea by a shallow headland, the Saaler Bodden, which is only two metres deep on average, offers an ideal playground for almost all wind directions. For speed and slalom surfing, there is often a lack of water under the fin where it is the smoothest. The spots with the best flat water are Born on the north shore in westerly, south to south-easterly winds and the headland of Barnstorf (south of Wustrow harbour) in all southerly wind directions. Saal on the eastern shore should mainly be approached in SW to NW winds. At all these spots, apart from a few chops, you will find a 1-a playground for manoeuvres and freestyle, the charming landscape of the "Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft National Park" and huge standing areas. There are even surf schools in Saal, Wustrow and Born - what more could you want?
You have to live with small chop, but this is no obstacle for power freestyle. Heaters and slalom pilots want more draught, seaweed is also an issue here.
The statistics for the Saaler Bodden show 25 to 40 per cent gliding wind - but because in principle all wind directions are possible and easterly winds are strengthened in spring and summer thanks to local thermals, there is often more than expected here.
No problems! With the exception of Barnstorf, you can park directly at the spot at all starting points
3rd place: Maasholm
Maasholm is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful spots in the Baltic Sea. Situated in the estuary of the Schlei, this peninsula catches wind from almost all directions. There is a windsurfing school on the western side, where you can practise safely in all westerly wind directions, sometimes in shallow water. An easterly wind makes the water here as smooth as glass, but then it also gets gusty. If you then move to the eastern shore, the wind blows onshore and is often thermally stronger in early summer. Here you have endless space to let your fin glow or conjure up a few moves on the water. And what else? Fish stalls, car parks and a nice little village - you can really have a good time here!
Apart from small choppy waves, this is a super shallow water spot with a large standing area. In summer, a weed fin is a must!
Large wind window (everything except north) and good gliding wind quota - 40 per cent in summer, up to 60 per cent in late autumn. surf tip: easterly winds in spring are usually stronger than forecast!
It's just a few minutes' drive from Kappeln. You can park in the immediate vicinity of the spot - easy!
2nd place: Schaproder Bodden
The shallow Bodden between Rügen and the offshore island of Hiddensee is an El Dorado for shallow water fans. The best starting points are Suhrendorf and Schaprode, where the spot conditions are almost the same: you shouldn't expect a mirror-smooth speed runway for high-speed runs, but the small chops usually stay within limits due to the shallow water depth and hardly interfere with tricky and slalom-heating. Given the great conditions, it's no wonder that surf schools and surf hostels have also set up shop here and you don't have to worry about the lack of like-minded people.
Small choppy waves are the rule, but it can also get really smooth in the east. As everywhere else, the weed fin is in constant use in summer.
South, west, north and sometimes even east - all wind directions are possible here - that's rare! The statistics also show that there is a 40 to 60 per cent gliding wind. Top!
Hassle-free: Rügen can be reached without a ferry, and you can park (and camp) directly at the spot.
1st place: Großenbrode
Quite popular with freestylers and speed surfers, but visited rather sporadically by amateur surfers. A 500 metre long breakwater separates the inland area south of Großenbrode from the open Baltic Sea, a slight bend in the breakwater ensures that you can always find a perfect angle in all main wind directions (east and west). When the wind blows from the OSO-NE, you can surf in the basin, when it blows from the W-WNW on the open side of the Baltic Sea - but the next piece of land is 80 kilometres away when the wind is fully offshore, so you should be able to get a good water start and cross if you want to get on the water here! On both sides of the breakwater it is quickly deep enough so that you can't go full throttle five metres downwind or perform all kinds of manoeuvres on the water - the turbulence is surprisingly limited. Caution is only advised in easterly winds and at the entrance on the inland side, where rusty metal bars lurk at the water's edge for bare surfers' feet! And what else? Parking at the spot, surf school, café, toilets and fish stall make Großenbrode a worthy top spot! Another plus: at least on the offshore side, there is no annoying seaweed!
The benchmark for smooth water on the Baltic Sea. At Hack, perhaps the only spot away from the North Sea tide for lab freestyle and long speed runs at 40 knots plus X.
Large wind window! You can ride everything from OSE-NE and WSW-WNW. The statistics are also impressive: 30 per cent gliding wind in summer, 55 per cent in winter - not bad! Surf tip: If the wind isn't enough here, head to Wulfen!
Easy, almost too easy! Park at the marina, rig up on the grass, walk 200 metres to the water and off you go.
