Interview: Protest against the Baltic Sea National Park - Vincent Langer surfs around Fehmarn
Tobias Frauen
· 22.05.2023
The topic of the Baltic Sea National Park was omnipresent at the surf festival on Fehmarn. Numerous pointed posters ("Bathing soon only on cruise ships?") drew attention to the problem, and there were clear voices against the plans in many of the talks on stage. The surf festival was the perfect platform for this, as an event like this would soon no longer be feasible in the worst-case scenario. Björn Brüggemann, the initiator of the petition and the first workshop, also came to Fehmarn to raise awareness and mobilise visitors.
Vincent Langer organised a special protest action: early on Saturday morning, the professional surfer from Kiel set off from the festival site to circumnavigate the island under the motto "Never again?". Because even this classic, in which Björn Dunkerbeck and Bernd Flessner once set records, would no longer be possible in a national park. We interviewed Vincent about his endeavour shortly afterwards.
You surfed around Fehmarn in protest against the national park. Briefly tell us how you came up with the idea.
Yes, that's right, under the motto "Never again?" I foiled around the island on Saturday. It may well be that this will no longer be possible if the national park goes ahead. That's what the coalition agreement between the CDU and the Greens says. That means you could never surf around Fehmarn again.
But what is much, much worse is that many other beaches could also be closed. Water sports will be very limited as a result, not just for windsurfers, but also for surfers, kiters and sailors. This national park is planned from Fehmarn in the south to Flensburg in the north and is roughly the size of Hamburg. The effects are still relatively unforeseeable. Even the surf festival, the largest windsurfing event in the world, would no longer be possible.
Did you plan the tour well in advance or was it a spontaneous idea?
It wasn't entirely spontaneous. My idols Bernd Flessner and Björn Dunkerbeck did it a few years ago and I've always wanted to do it. I thought to myself, if I don't do it this year, I might never do it again. That's why I rode around once on Saturday. It was really extremely long, extremely exhausting, over 130 kilometres. So it was really tough.
Did you have a boat with you for support?
At times I had support from a boat, but for most of the route I was travelling alone. But it has to be said, it was wonderful. I was occasionally accompanied by porpoises and I saw other sailors. Lots and lots of water sports enthusiasts out on the water and enjoying the wind. It really was a great experience.
How do you perceive the coast from so far out, the different landscapes?
So of course you can see the differences from the water, Westermarkelsdorf has a beautiful lighthouse, for example. These are things that you definitely can't see from the beach. Of course, you could see the top spots because there were so many water sports enthusiasts on the water. It was definitely a super cool experience to sail past Puttgarden with the big ferries, that was really impressive.
What material did you use?
I was travelling with the foil and a seven-and-a-half sail. We actually had a forecast of over 20 knots, but it was very light on the leeward side of the island. I even stopped every now and then. In other words, the record (2:48 h, set by Bernd Flessner in 2009, editor's note.), but with a little over three hours I was definitely travelling pretty fast.
What do you hope to gain from the campaign?
The problem is that many water sports enthusiasts and northern Germans in general are completely unaware of the implications of the national park plans. I had a quick chat with a sailor on the way who was kind enough to offer me something to drink and he asked why I was doing this at all. I told him about the national park and he didn't know anything about it. That really shocked me. My aim is to bring this problem into the public eye, to sensitise people and perhaps also motivate people to become active - in their circle of friends or politically. Simply to have a voice, to be loud and say "We want to keep our beaches!". The biggest problem is that we don't know what's coming. Will the beaches stay open? Will they all be closed? Where are we allowed to practise water sports, are we still allowed to do so? How big are the zones really? There are still a lot of question marks, but right now is the time for us to get our act together, to speak up, because the negotiations are now underway.
Are you also active in the workshops?
I haven't been there yet, but I've been in touch with Björn Brüggemann (Initiator of the protest petition and the workshops, editor's note.), and I will be there in the future!
