Despite being landlocked, Bavaria in southeast Germany has a thriving wind surfing scene due to its plentiful number of lakes that sit high above sea level in beautiful countryside, fringed with views of the hills and mountains. Andy Lachauer and Michael Krumm give us a guide to some of the area’s best spots.
Bavaria is mostly known for its beer, the Oktoberfest (locally called ‘Wies’n’), traditional costumes called Lederhosen for men and Dirndls for women, the most famous river wave in the world called Eisbach or the biggest mountain of Germany called Zugspitze. But there is even more to the area than all that for a windsurfer. Around 100 km from Munich there is a large number of lakes and for every wind direction there is a place to sail.
LAKE AMMERSEE
Ammersee is the place to go with westerly winds and is just 30 minutes from Munich. Typical conditions are a mix of sunshine and rain with a wind strength between 10 and 50 knots. When the lake is ‘boiling’ from high winds it delivers the best waves for jumping in the area. Best place to hit the water is in the bay of Herrsching; it has good parking, toilets and restaurants. For no wind days, visit Kloster Andechs, a monastery just up the mountain from Herrsching for traditional food and drinks in a great atmosphere.
LAKE STARNBERG
Just 10 minutes away from Ammersee is the next lake called Starnberg. It has pretty similar conditions to Ammersee except is normally a few knots less wind. There are several entry points around the lake (Ammerland, Ambach and Sankt Heinrich) and best wind directions are SSE-S-SW-W. If you need spares, there’s a windsurf shop right next to the lake called Surftools Starnberg (www.surftools.de).
LAKE WÖRTHSEE
Between Ammersee and Starnberg is another lake called Wörthsee, and is the place to go when the wind comes from the east. It’s a pretty small lake with nice water colours and mellow light wind conditions for freeride and freestyle with the wind peaking around 5 p.m., right on time for a sunset session. Best entry point is at “Rossschwemme”, which has good parking and a shop and café right at the spot.
Denne historien er fra Issue 387 - July 2019-utgaven av Windsurf.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 387 - July 2019-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!
