Kitesurfing in the North of Germany

[Olaf_Rostock]

I joined this forum to get help with my trip to Florida, which in turn should imply that I am happy to help anyone here in the unlikely event of a trip to Germany.

I live in Rostock, at the baltic coast in the north east of Germany. While we now (in December) have temperatures that make it necessary to use a dry suit, in summer this area is rather nice with plenty of spots to choose from. Apart from the Baltic sea, the North Sea offers plenty of opportunities. The Kitesurfing World Cup has a stop there.

If you are planning to visit Germany, let me know if you need travel advice.

Olaf

[ricki]

Thank you Olaf. From the photos I have seen of the area it looks to have a lot going for it. What would you say the best wind/conditions month might be? In that month what are typical wind conditions and air/water temperatures?

Thanks again!

[Olaf_Rostock]

The "normal" kite season is between April (May) to October (November), requiring a 3/4 mm long neopren in spring and autumn and a shorty around July/August. A dry suit extends the period but the "atmosphere" suffers a bit in the cold ... :)

Picking one place in the baltic, the stats for wind and temps are:

http://www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_arkona.htm

And for one spot in the North Sea:

http://www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_skt_peter-ording.htm

I was actually surprised that the statistics suggest relatively low temperatures but this may have something to do with the averaging. The summer is quite pleasant here (we are not that far north!).

The Kite & Windsurfing Guide of Europe (Stoked Publications)

http://www.stoked-publications.com/

gives a good overview of the spots and conditions. There are various other webpages with spotguides but mostly in German. For the baltic sea alone more than 100 spots are described - plenty of places to choose from.

The Kitesurfing World Cup stops in Sankt Peter Ording in 2009, this will be 25th July to 2nd August.

I am originally from West Germany but now live in the former East Germany (DDR) and prefer the area here - close to Denmark, Sweden and Poland. It is one of the most popular tourist regions in Germany. Being based in Rostock, the closest spot is 20min away and in about 40min I can reach about 10 alternative places to go on the water. Kitesurfing is quite popular here and there are always friends around to help. Wave conditions are probably easier to find in the North Sea and the Baltic offers perfect flat water conditions (and a couple of wave spots).

If anyone is seriously interested to visit the region, let me know.

Olaf