Through the Wadden Sea. Part 6. Heligoland – Wangerooge

Planning and departure
8 August 2025. Force 5, south-south-west. The Frisian islands all lay south-west, while the morning flood would carry us east. A TSS to cross too. Not a simple passage.

Wangerooge, thirty miles south, was the target. Anything farther west was unreachable. Sail as close as possible. Navily reviews gave an entry window two hours either side of high water, 12.04. At five knots, leave at six. But tacking would add distance, and sleep was needed. We left Heligoland at 4.40am.

The passage
Bright sunrise. Wind to 24 knots, two reefs in main, one in genoa. Waves 1.5m, heel thirty degrees. Six knots: Wangerooge began to feel possible. GPS supported the hope.

But the stream strengthened and carried us increasingly east. Engine on to point higher.

The approach
At eleven, the entrance appeared. Autopilot off, hand steering, following lateral marks. Beyond the sandbar, I gave Kolya the tiller and dealt with the main. Branches marked the marina route: twigs upwards, red side; downwards, green. A seal swam calmly past.

Full marina. A man on the pontoon waved arrivals into place. Five minutes later, he pointed us alongside another boat. A third rafted beside us later, and we chatted with her owner.

Wadden secrets
He rarely went into the North Sea. Between mainland and islands lay a whole other world, the Wadden Sea. Travel only with the tide, but almost no waves or strong wind. A special yacht, though: under ninety centimetres draught and external keel cooling, or sandy water clogs the engine. Built in the Netherlands.

Water below
Below, a wet carpet. A chill: the flooding story was too recent. Taste: salty. Water under both berths. While I pumped, Kostya searched. The stern-tube seal: a thin stream into the engine compartment. Heeling stopped the pump catching everything; some overflowed below. No repair here. Watch the level, replace the seal in winter. First, avoid sinking.

The moving island
€22 overnight. Two toilets, two unlimited showers. Five kilometres to town, walking or on a hired bike; alternatively, a little train from the port. No cars.

Wangerooge seemed endless fields with three lighthouses. The oldest, nineteenth-century brick, is now a lookout and wedding venue.

Lovely paths. Hares grazed beside us, unconcerned. A local detail: storms erode the west and deposit sand east. The island never stays still; it moves.

#passage