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Sailing from Harlingen to Terschelling 2023
Sailing on the Dutch Wadden SeaAt the end of each sailing season there are still some attractive regattas for traditional sailing ships on the coast of the Netherlands, which I really enjoy visiting. But I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find German-speaking like-minded friends who like to accompany me to one of these regattas? The reasons are varied. Too much convenience, because who accepts a journey of about 8 hours by train? Too little time, because who still has or "sacrifices" vacation days for that? And I have also experienced the vaunted business acumen of the Dutch charter fleet operators in a different way. You have to know a little bit where to book something that suits your needs and think about it in good time. With the "Suydersee" I have found a sailing ship on which I have participated the Brandarisrace several times.
Sailing from Harlingen to Terschelling
Sailing squadron from Harlingen to Terschelling
The weather was as always: bad and great!
It started with bad. I actually wanted to be there in time to explore the Harlingen port. As is well known, there are many sailing ships there that I would like to document. But this time it had no sense. The most unpleasant type of rain caused discomfort and far too little light. And it didn't stop there. The already stormy wind was expected to increase, so the news came on the evening of arrival: the Brandarisrace 2023 was cancelled! Although there were still moderate wind conditions on Saturday, the ships have to go back again safely the next day. In any case, the organisers did not want to take any responsibility for these trips. Several ship crews then decided to go to Terschelling anyway, but not under regatta conditions.
Sailing on the Wadden Sea
Varied sailing
In terms of the weather, there were also some very nice moments. I like contrast, which can also be good for pictures and film recordings. In any case, a large number of ships set off for Terschelling with heavily reefed sails. There also were sailing ships that I have rarely or never seen before. The "Utopia", for example sailed alongside us for quite a while. The name of the ship herself suggests that a dream has come true! And it was particularly nice to experience this time the "Isis", the well-known and fast sailing klipper of the Gouden Vloot. Very impressive was the journey of the Dutch sailing klippers "Poolster" and "Poseidon" side-by-side with our ship.
This is how I find joy in life!
Sailing is a way to leave everyday life behind. Before the winter break and before the dark days begin, this is particularly important for me. Experience nature, wind and weather, get to know new like-minded people, engage with someone else language, also accept some restrictions, a lot of change of scenery and some effort - just other forms of "stress", that’s what it’s all about for me. These experiences give me joy in life.
Sailing ships in the habour of Terschelling
When we reached the island of Terschelling, there was still some time to explore the small town. I was also on the high dunes to enjoy the wonderful view again. However, the weather forecasts of rain and storms turned out to be very accurate true, so we spent a long evening on board. My knowledge of Dutch is now good enough for the commands when sailing: trekken means pulling and vieren is the opposite. For good conversation with my fellow sailors in the evening that's unfortunately not enough.
The journey home to Harlingen the next day was also possible under sail. When we arrived in Harlingen I made up leeway was I had planned. I walked on the long piers at the harbour entrance until it got dark. Since the weekend for most of the sailing ships marked the end of the sailing season, several were immediately unrigged. And in Harlingen you can also do well stop somewhere what I did.
There is also a video of this trip so you can experience it a little.
Brandaris - the lighthouse on the island
The island is overlooked by the Brandaris lighthouse, visible from afar. When you see him, he doesn't necessarily leave a picturesque impression. He doesn't have to. Rather, he does what we still need lighthouses for today: he points the way for ships and protects them from shipwreck when leaving or, above all, entering a port or when passing through of passages.
He's been doing this for many years. The Brandaris is not the largest, but he is the oldest lighthouse on the coast of the
Netherlands. The current tower dates from 1594, built at the end of the century in which for example Nicholas Copernicus and
his proclamation of a heliocentric world view laid the foundations for a turning point in astronomy. Also the world and at
that time nautical maps gradually became more realistic, for example when the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerhard
Mercator (1512 - 1594) created the projection named after him what has revolutionised navigation and positioning in seafaring
in the following centuries. Nevertheless, good position marking on the North Sea coast via lighthouses remained essential.
The name of the lighthouse is a reference to St. Brandarius, an Irish abbot and saint who lived in the 5th century. On a
7 year journey he tried to find the promised land. In church pictures he is shown with a burning branch and perhaps shows
the searcher the way? In any case, this creates a reference to the tower's beacon. By the way, you can see this in clear weather
about 30 nm, so a little more than 50 km.
Until the 1980s it was said to have been possible for visitors to climb the tower. Today there are technical facilities in
and on the tower and it is no longer accessible to visitors.
The Brandaris is still a landmark for the island of Terschelling today. The Brandarisrace, which takes place every year at the end of the sailing season, is named after him.
