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East Frisian Islands - Part 3

No. This report is insufficient. If I could really write, there would be everything in it. The grey-blue monotony of sky and water in the calm on the way to Langeoog, in which the island dissolved on the horizon, and without pricks we would surely have lost our way like in the desert or in outer space, where there is nothing to hold on to. The great joy of arrival would be in it, discovering the island first, then the harbor entrance and then the place to dock. The satisfaction of pulling the boats onto the shore and taking the wetsuit off. The joy of a hot shower, hot tea from the thermos flask.

- The greatest achievement of Christian seafaring: that we have tea every six hours: I said.

I would have written about the exhilaration of sailing, the feeling of surfing on the crest of a wave into eternity for a moment. About the course of the sun and the moon, the ebb and flow of the tide. About the sky, which can be so high and wide above the flat land. About the joy of setting off, leaving everything behind and entrusting yourself and the boat to the waves and the wind, whistling behind your ears, and the blue sky with cirrus clouds and a few small cumulus. At sea, things are always simple and clear, beyond right and wrong. I would have written about the transition between the wind and the shimmering September warmth that strikes you unexpectedly in a dune valley. About the taste of half-ripe sea buckthorn berries. About the sand between my toes and the salt on my lips, salty drops thrown up by the paddle, in the evening they remained as white streaks on my arms. I would have written about the horse at Langeoog station, waiting for guests in front of the covered wagon with its nose in the dust like every day, especially about this horse and the organ grinder. And about the churches, where there was always a ship hung above the altar, or a steering wheel on the wall.

That sacred seriousness that the locals had to the sea, we felt it too. But we did all we could not to show it, like little children who whistle in the forest when they are scared. If I had made more of this page, the last night would be in it, sleeping in the boat, warm gusts of wind caressing my sleeping bag, next to the street lamp swaying in the wind against the clear night sky.

- It's a shame that so little of the historic architecture on the islands has survived: said Stefan. - From the time of Carruthers and Davies, there is almost nothing left .
- Nothing on this planet stays as it is, I said. - Especially not in the Wadden Sea. But I think when you've had a booze-up, it looks the same as it always has.

It's not bad that everything is changing. The only important thing is to see and hear and understand and do your job as well as you can. Then there is a touch of the whole in everything. I really should have made more of of this report. Nevertheless, there are some good sentences in it. There are some sentences in it that needed to be said.

- You must wash the boat and equipment thoroughly in fresh water. Otherwise you'll never get rid of the salt: Stefan said as he hugged me goodbye.

When he had left, I went back to the dyke. The water was still rising. The clouds moved as shadows over the rippled sea and the light-colored sands. Under the gusts, the sea was darker, with an almost metallic sheen. Seagulls circled in the air. I would have liked to stay longer.

References

Massive thanks to Stefan for the photos on these pages. To Claudia for the transfer back to Neuharlingersiel. And a big thank you to the Langeoog Sailing Club for the night in the boat shed.

Erskine Childers' novel "The Riddle of the Sands" is available as a paperback from different publishing companies.

Disclaimer

Long trips on small boats can be dangerous. Excellent seamanship, coupled with caution and realistic assessment of your own possibilities and limits are crucial for the success of such ventures. You shouldn't travel in this area without a good weather report. In this area you should not travel without current charts, tide calendars and a good, up-to-date weather forecast.
I cannot be held liable for your own endeavours on the water!