Andrej Oberreich at Surfcamp Veluwemeer

20.09.2023 15:17

Andrej Oberreich‘s Easter vacation at Surfcamp Veluwemeer

After a long and exhausting time at school, the Easter vacations began in Hessen. In the second week I went with my father to the Netherlands for windsurfing.

Our equipment included windsurfing equipment, windfoil equipment and for the first time wing equipment. We packed the car on Sunday and my father said as always that the car had never been so full, because we even took out all the rear seats.

On Easter Monday we left on time at 4 o'clock to the Surfcamp Veluwemeer. When we arrived there at 9 o'clock, a beautiful sunny and windy day began. After breakfast with warm tea, we went directly to set up and on the water.

Here are a few more facts about the spot: Veluwemeer is mostly a shallow water spot and the bottom is mostly moss.

There are many islands and for swans and also for other water birds it is a paradise. The wind often blows with 3-5 bft. Especially in cold temperatures in autumn and spring and for windsurfing beginners it is perfect, because almost everywhere it is only about 60 to 80 cm deep. For flat water racers and freestylers it is also ideal.

Our first day went very well. We had good weather and lots of wind. I practiced freestyle tricks and my father made his first attempts with the wing on his windsurf board.

Since the wind had about 6 Beaufort, he used the 2.8 Wing, which he had actually bought for my 7-year-old sister. It didn't work really well but the interested visitors had a lot of fun.

On Tuesday there were also great conditions for water sports, about 5 wind forces and in the gusts 6 wind forces with bright sunshine, but it was unfortunately quite cool. Just about 11 degrees outside temperature. I wanted to try wing-surfing for the first time that day. My father had had enough of the previous day's attempts. He said he didn't want to fall into the water all the time at these temperatures. This is normal for the first attempts at winging, but it didn't stop me from trying it out. So we drove to a spot of the Veluvemeer, where the water went up to my waist. After about twenty minutes it actually worked the first time and I could fly a few meters over the water.

It was an incredibly great feeling for me and I didn't want to stop.

My father took me off the water in the afternoon, however, because he didn't just want to watch me winging, but also wanted to surf a bit on the windsurfing board over the smooth Veluwemeer himself.

The next day we went to Almere for windfoiling, because it's really good for windfoiling in the spring and fall. In the summer months there is apparently too much seaweed there. That's why the members of the local surf club tend to go to Lelystadt.

By the way, Lelystadt is the capital of the province Flevoland in which the surf camp Veluwemeer is located. Lelystadt also has its charm as a wave beginner spot. If the wind direction is right, there are good waves and a nice sandy beach. Recently, there is also a camper site and you can spend the night directly at the spot.

The next day we went directly to Lelystadt, because there was supposed to be strong wind and good waves. My father helped me set up, as he has done many times before, and I was able to have a great time in the waves for 2 hours.