- Oversailer for the Hooksmeer
- Hooksiel offers more than clichéd North Sea grey
- There is obviously no need for a flat-bottomed boat
- New Year's Eve from Hooksiel to Heligoland
- Old and lovingly restored houses in the village centre
- Many from Hooksiel actively sail in regattas
- Precinct information
The crew from the guest yacht on the neighbouring jetty can hardly contain themselves: "It's beautiful here!", she exclaims. "Yes, you could say that," replies a local sailor, almost exuberantly for the area. Other sounds soon dominate the first impression of this gem between land and sea: the cuckoo calls tirelessly, songbirds chirp in competition. The wind rustles in the tall willows and poplars. A few boats chug quietly past, in between children whizz across the water in their optis and SUP paddlers paddle their laps.
Just three hours earlier, a stiff, salty North Sea breeze blew around our noses off the Jade estuary, we were lifted by long waves and pushed by the tidal current into the bay to the west of the Lower Weser. At its edge lie Wangerooge and Minsener Oog, the mudflats and the long beaches of Schillig and Hooksiel. True, genuine north.
Also interesting:
As we approached, we were able to orientate ourselves by the cranes of the Jade-Weser Port, tall chimneys and the LNG terminal at the head of a long pier, a strikingly different, industrial backdrop. But then we turn to starboard, into the outer harbour of Hooksiel. And at the end of the harbour, a lock opens the gate to the inland idyll.
Over there, salt air, wind, waves and vastness; over there, calm, forest and dyke. Even in the lock, the oilskins land on the saloon bench. Because here it is cosy and feels ten degrees warmer than usual on the German North Sea coast.
Oversailer for the Hooksmeer
- Fore harbour and waiting area for the lock coming from the sea
- Sluice
- Hooksiel shipyard with its own gantry crane, indoor and outdoor winter storage facilities
- Water skiing facility
- Surf school
- Marina Hooksiel and Sail-Lollipop Regatta Verein (SLRV), in the bay to the east of Wilhelmshavener Segelclub
- Water sports club Hooksiel
- Old harbour with guest berths
We chug along for a good half an hour through the inland waterway, which everyone here calls the Hooksmeer for short, to the old harbour in the small village of Hooksiel. We pass a shipyard on the starboard side, a water ski facility, a surf school and three marinas. To port, nothing but forest, reeds and, in the narrowing fairway, sheep on the dykes, almost within reach.
Hooksiel offers more than clichéd North Sea grey
Only a few guest sailors find their way here, as sailing on the North Sea seems less comfortable and free to many than on the Baltic or Mediterranean. With unpredictable weather and often a bit more wind than desired, with tides that dictate the planning of the trip. But the changeability of the atmosphere also means that it rarely stays bad all the time. So the North Sea itself and the Jade in particular have many faces.
They can become rough when there are 6 Beaufort or more against the current. This battle of the elements creates short, steep waves. On the other hand, when wind and sea play together, you glide swiftly along on smooth water.
Harbour porpoises make their home here and occasionally play around the boat. Seals lie lazily in the sun on the sandbanks at low tide. Mudflat walkers sometimes seem so close that they look anxiously at the echo sounder. Close to the edge of the mudflats, playing with the tidal current can be fun if the boat catches zones with less moving water or even neer currents. The room for manoeuvre is far greater than the tidal curves suggest.
Visually, too, the area offers more than the clichéd North Sea grey. Sometimes the sun flashes from the blue sky, then dark masses of clouds pile up and darken the sediment-clouded jade - until rays of light make it glow grey, green and blue. The rising water carries frothy edges from the mudflats, suggesting a shallow area where there is none.
"I've been sailing here for decades and I've never got bored," says Heinz Martin, Chairman of the Hooksiel water sports club. He finds the Jade fascinatingly diverse: "We can reach the East Frisian Islands or Helgoland so quickly. In bad weather, we can sail to Wilhelmshaven, Dangast or Varel." Like many of the local sailors, he also likes to spend his holidays on the Baltic Sea, the North Frisian Islands or in Holland - all of which can be reached in just two days if the conditions are right.
There is obviously no need for a flat-bottomed boat
It is probably this joy of travelling that makes life easy for guests despite the long waiting lists at the clubs. There's no need for tight crowds in the packet, not even long odysseys through narrow pit lanes. Dozens of the 700 or so berths remain free in summer. It would be difficult to choose if there wasn't almost always someone at the jetty waving in a friendly manner, taking the lines and answering the expected questions from guests with lots of good tips about the area.
As special as the tidal sailing outside the lock may seem, a glance across the jetty shows that this is by no means just home to North German salt humps with flat-bottomed ships. Hallberg-Rassys, X-Yachts and Bavarias lie alongside chunky chine or centreboard keels. Obviously, you don't need a flat-bottomed boat to explore the area on the edge of the North Sea. Yachts with a draught of up to two metres and a length of 15 metres can moor in the marina. Their owners just have to be a little more careful with their calculations and perhaps get up a little earlier because of the tide.
The Jade itself is a deep waterway that can be navigated at any time and offers plenty of open sea space. The local crews enjoy this freedom. "We like to sail to the East and North Frisian Islands or to Helgoland," say Gabi and Christian Antons on their Winner 9.50, "but we also just go out for a day: with very long crossings across the wide and shallow Jade, depending on the tide towards the open sea or Wilhelmshaven. In the evening, we return to our berth to anchor in the Hooksmeer, or we go to the Old Harbour for dinner."
They also appreciate having a shipyard on site. Because what would not be worth mentioning to Baltic Sea sailors is a rare plus on the German North Sea coast. Even when it's choppy out at sea, you won't get bored. Hiking and cycling trails along the shores of the Hooksmeer, on the dykes and between green meadows in the flat inland invite you to explore. Stand-up paddling, kitesurfing and windsurfing are on offer at the surf school, you can do laps and practise jumps at the water ski centre, or simply watch those who know how over coffee and cake. The long sandy beach, a swimming pool, pony rides or fishing and swimming in the inland deep water make the holiday attractive for family crews.
New Year's Eve from Hooksiel to Heligoland
The permanent residents not only come from the region, but also from far and wide. Irmgard and Viktor Moser would be quicker in Genoa than in Hooksiel, but they regularly make the long journey from their home near Ulm. "We bought our boat here and never thought for a second about moving it to another harbour. We like the area and especially the quiet, sheltered berth, which even allows us to stay in the water over the winter and spend a few days on board."
Many sailors take advantage of this: at the end of the season, their fleet lines up on two or three jetties, the bows facing west to brave the storms. For many years, it was a tradition for a handful of hardy sailors to sail from here to Heligoland on New Year's Eve. However, since the need for massive renovation work on the lock became apparent, this has come to an end: from November to Easter, the chamber will unfortunately remain closed until further notice due to construction work.
In the old harbour at the end of the Hooksmeer, pleasure boats and a flat-bottomed ship are moored on the jetty below historic packing houses from the early 19th century. These bear witness to the former prosperity of maritime trade, crabbing and fishing, with markings of historic high tide levels on their walls.
We are in Friesland, and it is not just the name of the region that reminds us of our Dutch neighbours to the west. They have demonstrated on a grand scale how land and inland waters can be reclaimed from the sea using dykes and polders. In Hooksiel and the surrounding area, they followed suit in the seventies. Previously, a tidal channel led to the old harbour, once important for trade and fishing, where sailing began in a mud hole in 1967.
Old and lovingly restored houses in the village centre
In the past, it was the tides that determined calm and activity. Today, the seasons set the pace on a large scale and the weather on a small scale. On a sunny Saturday in May, guests of the restaurant of the same name sit in front of the Packhaus with a drink under parasols, while others stroll along. They all look down at the activity on the boats: Life on board on a beautifully framed presentation plate. The berth is free for one night; you pay for it by largely foregoing a private life on deck. A single-handed sailor makes a virtue of this and, sitting in the cockpit with a beer, sounds the harbour basin with loud shanties from the tape.
A stroll through the small town seems the better option: fish restaurants alternate with ice cream parlours, cafés, typical souvenir shops and shops selling maritime clothing, including a yellow Frisian mink. The businesses are housed in small, old and lovingly restored houses that were once home to fishermen, captains and craftsmen.
The most striking of these is probably the richly decorated former town hall, whose roof is crowned by an onion dome with a gleaming golden wind vane - a gift from a British captain in 1760 as thanks for the repair of his ship in the Hooksiel shipyard. Under the crowned roof, a little boy presses his nose against the window of the shell museum and marvels at the exhibits from all over the world. In the artists' house next door, painters from the region exhibit their art. Information boards in front of the houses tell the history of the place.
The old town centre is clearly laid out. With every step out, the surroundings become a little more functional and rustic: North German solidity instead of the sophisticated glamour of a seaside resort, as we know it from the Baltic Sea or some North Sea islands. On the outskirts of the village, Wolfram Heibeck's specialised boat-building workshop produces everything that makes yachts faster. The master craftsman and his self-built Open 40 "Black Maggy" are familiar to many from the big Baltic Sea races.
Many from Hooksiel actively sail in regattas
"I love sailing there," enthuses the master boat builder. "No tides, you can set off whenever you want and there's a harbour on every corner - it's very relaxed. But both the Jade and the North Sea are excellent neighbouring areas with plenty of open sea space." "Wolle", as his friends call him, has just returned from a day's single-handed training: once to Helgoland and back, through the lock at eight in the morning and back in the Hooksmeer before six in the evening. Tides and currents become routine. There's no better place to learn how to be in the right place at the right time.
According to Heibeck, this also benefits him time and again on the Silverrudder, which in some places has considerable currents for the Baltic Sea. "I can see it on the plotter, but now I can also intuitively feel where I can go with the current - that can be a decisive advantage." This is also confirmed by architect and dedicated regatta sailor Marlene Brudek, whose First 27 is moored at the SLRV jetty. The former windsurfer only started sailing in 2017, and shortly afterwards she entered class regattas, Vegvisir Race and Silverrudder, in which she is one of very few women regularly represented with her "Heartbeat".
"Before the first time, I had to practise single-handed night sailing. So I sailed through the lock in the evening and sailed up and down the Jade all night. There's nothing going on here, so I was able to concentrate fully on the boat and handling," she says. Like Marlene and Wolle, many people from the area sail actively: in Wednesday regattas, the Horum Regatta, the North Sea Week, Rund Skagen or the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Christian Herzog, harbour master at WSV Hooksiel, aptly describes the sailing community as follows: "I'm moored on my jetty between Wolfram with his "Black Maggy" and Hendrik Busemann, who has been German sailing champion several times. I learn a lot there. But nobody here peddles their successes, you learn about them by chance."
You have to take in this small world of great diversity and let your thoughts settle. Where better to do that than in a quiet anchorage? As we entered the inland depression, we passed a small island, behind which we observed several boats at anchor, their crews dozing in the sun or bathing: a nice option for a quiet night under the stars.
Then you can continue, perhaps through the mudflats to Wangerooge, another special place. But that's another story.
Precinct information
Access road
The green buoy H3 in front of the harbour entrance is passed to the south. On the land side, two beacons (hourglass) mark the ideal line into the harbour. Watch out for cross current: Although the entrance has a target depth of 1.60 metres at low tide, there are tidal ridges on both sides. There is a restricted area around the LNG terminal on the pier that must be observed at all times.
Sluice
The train runs from Easter to the end of October. In the main season at weekends every hour from 8am to 12pm and 2pm to 8pm, on weekdays five times between 8am and 7pm, or several times in succession during busy periods. Guests pay the fee at the top of the tower to the lock keeper, who also issues keys for the marina against a deposit.
Berths
Anyone travelling to the Hooksmeer as a guest will always find somewhere to stay: in the marina run by Wangerland-Touristik or with one of the clubs - even for several weeks or months. However, the berths at the shipyard directly behind the lock are reserved for customers. Here are the web links of the marina operators:
- Marina Hooksiel: wangerland.de
- Wilhelmshaven Sailing Club: sailingimwsc.com
- Sail-Lollipop Regatta Association: sail-lollipop.de
- Water sports club Hooksiel: wsv-hooksiel.de
Charter
A Dehler 35 and 38 are available in Hooksiel Marina, operated and looked after by Sascha Mende, who advises the crews daily on the weather and mudflats (yachtcharter-hooksiel.com). Berth charter and sailing training at sea are offered by the North Sea Nautical School. The North Sea Sailing School and the clubs teach inland sailing on optis, dinghies and motorboats. Multihull fans can charter berths on the ocean-going cat "Gerda Martha" or take part in manoeuvre training.
Literature
- Holger Peterson: "How we sail in the north"
- Jan Werner: "Cruising guide North Sea coast"
