Heligoland is currently experiencing a real construction boom. As the only German offshore island, the red rock is not only an ideal venue for offshore regattas, but also a base for wind farm operators. According to the German government's plans, around 5,000 wind turbines with a total output of 10,000 megawatts are to generate electricity in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea by 2020. Ships with service personnel have to travel to and from the wind farms every day for maintenance work. Heligoland is the perfect location for this. These ships can be loaded with tools and spare parts from the quayside in the southern harbour.
Around 150 people will work and live on Heligoland for the operation of the offshore wind farms, in addition to temporary jobs with suppliers, construction and shipping companies.
So there is a lot of building going on: The southern harbour site is currently being expanded as a service and operating station. Three workshops and warehouses are being built on an area of around 10,000 square metres. Further halls are being built away from the sewage treatment plant and will be used to store supplies for the parks. At the quayside of the outer harbour, ten berths are being created on a new jetty for the offshore service vessels or crew vessels that transport the workers to the wind turbines.
The inland harbour, where the petrol station is currently located, is to be rededicated in the long term: A modern marina is planned here. The petrol station will be located in the southern harbour and yachts can be moored directly in front of the lobster shacks. If you know Heligoland, it's a great idea to sit in front of the trendy "Bunte Kuh" pub and look out over the marina. The Helgoland Fracht-Kontor supply ship, affectionately known as "Müll-Meyers Frachter", which currently still supplies Heligoland with essential goods via the inland harbour, will also call at the southern harbour in future.
Work is also being done to make the island more attractive to tourists: The promenade between the inner and northern harbours has already been attractively redesigned and further measures will follow.
This means changes for the organisation of the North Sea Week, but not on the water. The three wind farms around Heligoland are between 25 and 39 kilometres away from the island and will not affect the regatta courses. However, the arrangements on land will be.
Next to the Marina apartment building at the southern harbour is a container castle consisting of two by eight containers and a hall behind it. The containers are not very attractive, but were only built as a temporary solution and will be removed after a year and a half. In the next two years, the space for the boot Düsseldorf Race Village and the toilets and showers will be a little more limited, but still sufficient.
There is less hotel capacity at Whitsun: the "Atoll Ocean Resort" hotel has been fully let to the wind farm operator for the next ten years since 31 October 2012. Reservations for external guests are therefore no longer possible. New hotel capacity has not yet been created. However, this should not detract from a traditional North Sea Week participation: traditionally, the three nights are not spent sleeping but partying anyway.
