Crossing the Wadden Sea: from Holwerd to Nes, Ameland

Paddling (and kayak sailing!) from buoy to buoy, across the Wadden Sea. Photo by Marianne.

In this whirlwind of a weekend, we camped and kayaked in Friesland, crossed the Wadden Sea to Ameland, camped and biked,  paddled back again, and made it back to Rotterdam in time for dinner. We encountered a bit of wind and waves, some friendly currents, big ferries,  and a (real!) message in a bottle. 

I've broken the post into four sections, with some handy shortcuts here:

1. Inspiration and Planning
2. Trip Part 1: Friesland (camping and paddling on a Frisian lake)
3. Trip Part 2: Holwerd to Nes, Ameland (some headwinds and waves)
4. Trip Part 3: Exploring Ameland (pictures of the island and a mini bike tour)
5. Trip Part 4: Ameland to Holwerd (when the currents pushed us home and we did some surfing)

Inspiration and Planning

​It began on the banks of the IJssel River. Henk and Berend had just discovered their common love for the island of Terschelling, and as a group we realized that many of us (Berend, Henk, Harold, and I) had never paddled on the Wadden Sea before. The Wadden Sea extends across the northern coast of the Netherlands, and continues up the coasts of Germany and Denmark. It is the strip of water between the mainland and the line of barrier islands that runs parallel to the coast of the three countries. While I'd visited a few times before (bike camping on Texel, wadlopen to Schiermonikoog, and a visit to Ameland and Terschelling), I'd still never dipped my paddle in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is a kayaker's paradise. At low tide, most of the sea falls dry with the exception of a few deep tidal channels, revealing vast mudflats and sandbars. Birds scamper around on the exposed flats, and seals are a common sighting. 

Satellite image of the Dutch, German, and Danish Wadden Sea, from the UNESCO website. Ameland is the 4th island from the lower left.

​Each rising tide pushes water from the North Sea between the islands, into the tidal channels, and over the flats. Each falling tide drains it again. It's essential to time your trip based on the currents; the current speeds in the channels can easily exceed those of your fastest paddle stroke, and it's easy to fall dry on a mudflat during falling tide. <add video of tidal currents??> Another thing to consider is whether the put-in and take-out points are accessible at certain water levels. Some access points become wide, squishy mudflats at low tide, making landing/launching with gear-laden boats a very messy endeavor. Wind and waves are also a factor, as the wind can change quickly. Luckily, the large barrier islands provide a bit of sheltering from the larger waves on the North Sea. For the crossing to Ameland, a ferry departs Holwerd and Nes every hour, which means a large ship passes by every 30 minutes while you're crossing (plus the occasional speeding water taxi). For this reason, it's important to stay out of the navigation channel, which is marked by red and green buoys. By the way, did you know that the expression "red right returning" that we use in the US does not apply in Europe? In Europe the red and green buoys are on opposite sides, as compared to in the US. Only North America, Central America, South America, the Philippines, Japan and Korea use "red, right, returning." The rest of the world is the opposite... 

Studying the (outdated) charts at the club earlier that week.

​So as we were sitting in the sun on the banks of the IJssel River, we discussed the possibilities of an overnight trip on the Wadden Sea. The initial idea was to paddle to Terschelling, but Iede informed us that it's a 6-hour non-stop crossing. We decided to lower the bar for our first trip, and move one island to the east, to Ameland! The town of Nes in Ameland is a ~10km crossing from Holwerd, which can take 1.5 to 3 hours depending on how much current you have in your favor. The weekend we chose - August 4/5 - was a bit tricky in terms of planning. The high tide was relatively late in the day, which meant we couldn't leave Holwerd until ~3pm on Saturday. In the week prior to the trip, Iede and I looked at the charts and brainstormed other options to add more paddling to the mornings. We couldn't find any real options on the Wadden Sea, so we eventually decided to sleep in Friesland on Friday evening, which is on the way to the Wadden Sea. That would give everyone the opportunity to do some more paddling on a lake in Friesland on Saturday morning.

While I've organized plenty of trips with groups of friends in New York, California, and during various travels, this was my first time organizing a formal multi-day sea kayaking trip that required a higher level of navigational expertise and real tidal planning. It was also my longest open water crossing (I think...), and my first time on the Wadden Sea. So, yea, I found the week leading up to the trip a bit stressful, since I felt like I was very dependent on others for getting the trip off the ground. I sent around a proposed plan, and we met on Wednesday evening at the club to iron out the final details. 

Trip Part 1: Friesland

​We m​et at the club in Rotterdam at 18:00 on Friday evening. Everyone efficiently loaded their boats on 4 cars, and we were ready to go at 18:45. The first leg of the trip took us to Haje, a restaurant along the highway where we ate during last year's Friesland trip. It's a nice place with decent food and plenty of vegetarian options. Upon arriving to dinner, Berend informed us that his car was having engine troubles again, which meant he would only be able to drive a maximum of 90 km/hr (55 mph). It would be a relaxing ride! 

After a quick and tasty dinner we continued to campground De Koevoet ("The Cow Foot"). The parking lot was packed when we arrived, but we managed to find a spot. The tent field was on the far side of the campground, so we used the available wheelbarrows to cart our camping gear to our site. By the time the tents were set up, the sun had set and we huddled around a candle and chatted for a while before heading off to bed. 

We all slept in a bit on Saturday morning, and had breakfast together (except Iede, who appeared from his tent a couple hours later. 

Everyone hanging out in a small patch of shade during breakfast.

Marianne, Henk, Mike, and I decided to go for a paddle, as the campground had a small harbor where we could launch. Henk's boat was squeezed between Iede and Berend's boat on the top of Berend's tall van, so he decided to try Erik's more accessible boat instead. We stepped into our boats from the high wall, at which point Henk realized Erik's boat was a too small. Only three of us remained for the morning paddle... 

Mike, Marianne, and I paddled up the east side of of De Kufurd Lake. We continued along the "Janesloot" canal until we reached the lake "Langwarder Wieland." It was very buy on the lake that morning, with a constant stream of boat traffic (motorboats and sailboats) passing through the navigation channel. After an hour we turned around and headed back, more or less the same way. 

Mike and Nena paddling along De Kufurd Lake in Friesland. Photo by Marianne.

Marianne and Mike returning to the campsite.

We loaded our boats back on the cars and found our co-paddlers hanging out in the grass. We joined for a quick lunch. ​

Lazing around in the roasting temperatures.

After lunch, the group was getting antsy to get moving, so we decided to deviate from the original schedule and drive north an hour early.

Statistics from the short morning paddle. Continue down for the blog about the Wadden Sea paddle!

Date: Saturday, August 4th, 2018
Duration: 2 hrs
Distance: 10 km
Weather: Sunny, breezy, very warm

Trip Part 2: Holwerd to Nes (Ameland)

​We arrived at the Holwerd Ferry Terminal around 13:30, 2 hours before high water. It was pretty windy and the put-in, a steep and rocky breakwater, looked daunting. Erik launched first from the adjacent high dock and, together with Iede, held everyone else's boat steady as we got in one by one. 

At the launch site at the Holwerd Ferry Terminal. Iede and Henk packing their boats while waiting passengers watch.

Iede helping Berend launch in the waves.

A nice overview of the business at the put-in. Photo by Marianne.

Everyone launched, time to start paddling! Ferry departing in the distance. Photo by Marianne.

​We waited for one of the hourly ferries to pass before crossing the channel. We stayed on the right side of the red buoys for the duration of the paddle. There was a decent headwind, but we were thankful after the overly hot morning. Erik and Iede paddled circles around the rest of us. Berend, who is an avid kayak sailor, hoisted his sail and cruised at half wind for much of the route. Every 30 mins or so a ferry would pass us, adding some extra chop to the mix. See below for some action shots!

Marianne and Harold looking intense in the overcast sea.

​We arrived in Nes around 18:00 and poked around the harbor to find the field where we could supposedly pitch our tents. It was towards the right side of the harbor, at the end of a ramp leading up to it. The field had picnic tables, a garbage bin, and was next to the toilets. Super convenient! We  unpacked our boats, hung up wet gear, and pitched our tents in the wind. ​Rumor had it that 15 other paddlers  would join us in the field, so we huddled our tents together at one end.

Iede unpacking his boat at the campsite in Nes

Trip Part 3: Exploring Ameland

​We hunkered down at the picnic tables and had a beer, and eventually started cooking dinner. Henk and I made bean and cheese burritos with some veggies. Marianne, Erik, and Mike also cooked, and Berend, who had food but didn't feel like cooking, persuaded Iede and Harold (who conveniently couldn't locate his dinner) to join him for a restaurant dinner in Nes. After dinner, Henk and I went for a walk along the dike, ending up in town for an ice cream. I was tired and went to bed shortly after, but two boys from the nearby sailboats decided that our tents were the best place to test out their new toys - lights that you shoot into the air with a rubber band. Luckily, after 30 mins of their yelling and running into our tents, they lost the rubberband (I swear, I didn't take it...). After a lengthy search, including enlisting their mother to help, they gave up and went to bed. 

​We slept well and woke up around 8am. We packed up the tent and made some oatmeal (much to others' chagrin). Berend went into town and bought some croissants for everyone! Yum. Since we only wanted to leave after noon to catch the incoming tide, Henk and I spent the morning biking. We rented some bikes from the adjacent shop (6 euros each) and explored the island.  See a few photos here (click to enlarge):

​We returned to the field around noon to eat a quick lunch. While we were away, Iede had left the island. His plan was to spend the next two weeks paddling back to Rotterdam! As of this writing, he is still alive and well and already circumnavigated neighboring Schiermonikoog island. He's off to Terschelling tomorrow. 

Iede heading off on his 2-week solo paddling trip. See you in Rotterdam! Photo by Marianne.

Iede sent us this picture a few hours later, saying he hadn't quite managed to avoid the lowest tide after all. But it's a super pretty picture, so we won't tease him about it. Photo by Iede.

Trip Part 4: Ameland to Holwerd

​We were on the water for the return crossing at 12:30, and everyone was in good spirits. There was very little wind, and the sun was shining. It took a bit of searching to find the first buoy, but once we oriented ourselves, it was easy cruising. We had the wind and currents in our favor, and the whole trip took ~half as long as the day before! We paused along the way to play in passing ferry waves and in the eddies behind buoys. Some of us saw a sea lion pop its head up. We paddled past some exposed sandbars covered in feeding birds. The second day really felt like a different adventure, with different weather, more currents, and wind at our backs. 

Here we are, hanging out together in a raft during a rare mid-paddle break!

Photo by Marianne.

Berend showing everyone his message in a bottle! Photo by Marianne.

During the return paddle, Berend discovered a floating wine bottle, which was sealed with red wax and looked incredibly authentic. Later that evening he sent us an update - it was a Germay family who had thrown the bottle in the sea the day before. Our dreams of romantic pen pals were crushed. 

Photo by Berend.

​We landed in Holwerd around 14:15. Landing on the hard breakwater was easy since there were virtually no waves. Everyone quickly unpacked the boats, got the cars out of the nearby garage (10 euros for the overnight parking), and loaded up. We were on the road by 15:00. We had to stop twice on the route over the Afsluitdijk for crossing sailboats, but (as of the first draft of this post) "we're cruising right along."

Photo by Marianne (well, actually the nice guy on the pier).

Photo by Marianne (well, actually the nice guy on the pier).

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, August 4th & 5th 2018
Duration: 2.5 hours to Ameland, 1.75 hours back
Weather: Warm both days, windier on Saturday afternoon (~4 bft?) and calmer on Sunday (~2/3 bft). Not much current heading out on Saturday, lots of current  coming in during the paddle on Sunday. 
Distance: ~ 11 km (7 miles) each way, except Erik who did 14 :)