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Through the Wadden Sea. Part 11. Borkum – Spiekeroog
Planning
13 August 2025. About fifty miles Borkum–Spiekeroog, ten hours. Main difficulty: the entrance sandbar, only twenty centimetres charted, exposed at spring low water. High tide adds 3.5m. High water 3.29pm, so leave by six to avoid fighting the ebb. Borkum’s depths permit departure anytime; flood not until 8.39.
Light easterly, five to seven knots. Engine needed, sail mainly for stability.
The passage
More fishing boats than I’d seen anywhere. Salt surprised me too: white film over the whole deck, like flour. Otherwise quiet: light wind, almost no waves.
Near Spiekeroog, a cinematic moment. I went to the mast to lower sail, Kostya at the tiller. As the last cloth dropped, a fishing vessel appeared straight ahead, only three hundred metres away. Nets out on both sides, gulls astern. ‘Kostya! Turn! Quickly!’ Confusion first, then he moved the tiller in time. About fifty metres between us. Thankfully, no net in the propeller. The fishermen neither turned nor slowed. Kings of the sea indeed. Lucky to escape consequences.
Spiekeroog
Plenty of marina space. Berthed quietly, €21 paid, off to explore.
A beautifully kept resort island. Named houses, flowers in windows, neat streets, cafés, restaurants and shops. Beyond town, dunes and the sculpture De Utkieker — ‘The Watcher’ — with wonderful views over the tidal flats. Then broad beaches and dunes, lovely barefoot. Only the second stop after Heligoland I’d call truly beautiful.
A Wadden surprise
Back at the boat, astonishment: almost no water left. Yachts stood in mud among puddles, even the quay base exposed. Never seen a marina vanish with its water.
Atmosphere
More than beauty: meadow scents filled the air, like walking through a vast natural apothecary. Almost healing, easing fatigue and the day’s tension. A magnificent end to the East Frisian islands. Worth returning for longer.
#passage
Planning
13 August 2025. About fifty miles Borkum–Spiekeroog, ten hours. Main difficulty: the entrance sandbar, only twenty centimetres charted, exposed at spring low water. High tide adds 3.5m. High water 3.29pm, so leave by six to avoid fighting the ebb. Borkum’s depths permit departure anytime; flood not until 8.39.
Light easterly, five to seven knots. Engine needed, sail mainly for stability.
The passage
More fishing boats than I’d seen anywhere. Salt surprised me too: white film over the whole deck, like flour. Otherwise quiet: light wind, almost no waves.
Near Spiekeroog, a cinematic moment. I went to the mast to lower sail, Kostya at the tiller. As the last cloth dropped, a fishing vessel appeared straight ahead, only three hundred metres away. Nets out on both sides, gulls astern. ‘Kostya! Turn! Quickly!’ Confusion first, then he moved the tiller in time. About fifty metres between us. Thankfully, no net in the propeller. The fishermen neither turned nor slowed. Kings of the sea indeed. Lucky to escape consequences.
Spiekeroog
Plenty of marina space. Berthed quietly, €21 paid, off to explore.
A beautifully kept resort island. Named houses, flowers in windows, neat streets, cafés, restaurants and shops. Beyond town, dunes and the sculpture De Utkieker — ‘The Watcher’ — with wonderful views over the tidal flats. Then broad beaches and dunes, lovely barefoot. Only the second stop after Heligoland I’d call truly beautiful.
A Wadden surprise
Back at the boat, astonishment: almost no water left. Yachts stood in mud among puddles, even the quay base exposed. Never seen a marina vanish with its water.
Atmosphere
More than beauty: meadow scents filled the air, like walking through a vast natural apothecary. Almost healing, easing fatigue and the day’s tension. A magnificent end to the East Frisian islands. Worth returning for longer.
#passage
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