Gallery: Cold Hawaii runs hot! The best pictures from the swell of the year

I have to get out of there! 13-second wave separation, mast-high waves, a good eight force wind side-offshore from the left. And: no gloves, bonnet, hail. Instead: light summer neoprene, sun, warm wind. "One of the biggest sideoffshore days I've seen in Middles in recent years," says someone who should know: Lars Petersen, the Danish windsurfing pioneer who was one of the first windsurfers to make "Cold Hawaii", the region in north-west Denmark around Hanstholm and Klitmøller, his adopted home. It's a "Big Tuesday" - in August. I had already experienced similar waves here, but only in the freezing winter.

"Better a bigger sail?" I ask. "Better big balls," recommends a Danish local rather dryly.

Cold Hawaii - better today than the Pacific original, where it's apparently always summer? I'm far too excited for breakfast. Shortly after seven, Oli Maier is the first "test rider" to venture into the breakers with a 3.6 sail. With skill, fight and timing, he clears the high hurdles on the way out. The side offshore storm blows the wave surface smooth, but is extremely gusty and full of holes near the shore. "Better a bigger sail?" I ask. "Better big balls", a Danish local recommends rather dryly. Thanks for the tip. I take the 4.0 and my 87-litre board. Mast-high white water rollers thunder towards the rocky beach. Anticipation? Fear? As I take off, the Tina Turner song "Chicken" unintentionally haunts my brain. "Today is the day when you better do five chicken jibes in front of the wave instead of a full wash underneath," said Søren, a Danish friend on the beach earlier. Fall off! Step on the gas! Climb white water! Hold on tight - every time you cross a wave there is a violent jolt from the turbulence of the offshore wind. Where is the next gap? The way out is like climbing over white water - just don't get caught in these avalanches! Heart rate: 180, but I make it. Outside the surf zone, I first run uphill and lower my heart rate.

But even outside, there are always wave crests that are so big that they break several hundred metres off the coast. There aren't many surfers out there. This morning, there were far more people watching the action from the shore. Many had travelled here at short notice because of the forecast, including me. Thank you, dear work colleagues, for taking over today! The German worldcupper Leon Jamaer is also out early and shows what is possible on the day. If you have the courage and the necessary skills. I take my first wave. Breathe! Down into the deep - bottom turn and up again. The wave runs and runs. One turn follows the next. I don't risk anything, I just want to stay at the right point on the wave. The warmth, the length and the size of the waves remind me of my only visit to Hawaii. When I was 14, we made a stopover on Oahu on our way to Australia, where my family lived for a year. The images of the cult spot Diamond Head remain legendary in my mind: Long white wave lines, breaking cleanly to the right. This morning in "Cold Hawaii" seems absolutely comparable to me. Gradually, more surfers venture into the breakers, but it never gets crowded today. The size of the waves makes sure of that. Unfortunately, several masts break - and one foot, at the neighbouring spot in Klitmøller, according to reports on the beach.

The pictures of the cult spot Diamond Head on Oahu are legendary in my mind: Long white wave lines, breaking cleanly to the right. This morning in Cold Hawaii seems absolutely comparable to me

If you get washed properly, you're lucky if you catch your gear before it drifts hundreds of metres further downwind. The "Walk of Shame" on the beach from the next spot Hamborg back to Middles is very busy today. Around midday, the wave height decreases slightly - and my courage increases. The wind turns a little more sideways, which makes it much easier to get out. I venture closer and closer to the steep part of the waves. Take off. Aerial. Cushioning. An explosion of white water brings me down to earth - and the North Sea. My material is gone. Air! Preferably before the next metre-thick foam roller. Much later, I have also completed a small triathlon of diving, swimming and running ashore and am glad that everything has remained intact.

The "Walk of Shame" on the beach from the next spot Hamborg back to Middles is very busy today

The waves continue to run hot in the afternoon and the next day. With decreasing size, but with summer temperatures and only very rarely with a short shower. I've never experienced Cold Hawaii so "hot". Thank you, weather god, thank you to the Danish surfers for sharing! They were the days of the year. At least in my mind, they pulverised the boundaries between "Cold Hawaii" and Hawaii.