Wismar is not famous as a good kitespot, but it has a lot to offer: firstly, at least half a dozen good kitespots within a radius of 40 kilometres. Secondly, a beautiful old town with a lot of history and, thanks to its small university, some nightlife away from the Musikantenstadel. Thirdly, good food and a large selection of affordable accommodation from €15 per night – ask at the tourist information centre on the main square.
The kite spots around Wismar all have one thing in common: the sea is very shallow. In some cases, you should stand 300 metres out for every jump – crash landings in 20 cm of water are no fun. At some kitespots, the local authorities charge outrageous fees for parking and beach use – but there are plenty of free kitespots.
Kitespots Wismar: Zierow. The quickest way to reach the kitespot Zierow is approx. 6 km from the centre of Wismar in the west. Free parking 250 metres to the left of the campsite or directly in front of it for €3 per day. Walk 250 metres east through the campsite to the surf shack on the beach. No charges, nice people. There is a kiosk and restaurant on the campsite with reasonable prices. The beach is very narrow, but the standing area is huge, the bottom a bit muddy. There are usually only surfers there, so start downwind of them. The Zierow kitespot works best with a north-easterly wind. Westerly winds are a bit stubborn due to the course of the coast and, above all, quickly become 5 knots less than in Pepelow.
Kitespot Wismar: Wohlenberger Wiek. 12 kilometres west of Wismar is the kitespot Wohlenberger Wiek. An absolute dream spot: empty, wide sandy beach, wide bay, large standing area. Free parking in front of the kiosk at the Liebeslaube campsite directly behind the beach. A sign proclaims “paid beach” – but no one has checked this on my four visits, there are no machines anywhere. The Wohlenberger Wiek kitespot works in all winds except south. East to north-east is certainly strong and consistent, with westerly winds 2 to 5 knots less than Pepelow due to the shape of the coast, just like Zierow. Slight waves in northerly winds. Be careful when landing: behind the sandy beach is a belt of thorny rosehip bushes. There is a small kite school in front of the campsite at the Wismar / Wohlenberger Wiek kitespot. A few small motorboats are anchored in the bay in front. There is plenty of space despite the swimmers in the west, there were never more than 5 kiters.
Kitespots Wismar: nature reserves. Large areas of the Bay of Wismar are completely protected and are closed to all water sports. Some kiters were upset about this at Oase. I don’t understand, we still have plenty of choice of spots and enough space. Large shoals of pre-sailors, e.g. on the crossing to the island of Poel, say that the nature reserves are there for a reason. Stick to it!
Kitespots Wismar: Salzhaff / Boiensdorf. 20 km north-east of Wismar lies the small village of Boiensdorf on the Salzhaff. There is a kite school with a kiosk. I won’t write anything else about this spot because the people there simply don’t realise that a car park in the middle of miles of fields in the middle of nowhere for €4 a day is just snotty. We are kiters! We don’t pay to use open spaces and the wind!
Kitespots Wismar: Salzhaff / Pepelow. Due to the many traffic lights in Wismar and numerous speed limits behind them, the journey to the Pepelow kitespot takes a whopping 45 minutes for 25 kilometres. Parking at the campsite costs €1.60 per day, everything else is no-parking. The official kite fee is €2.75 – just say “I want to have a look first” – then you can do it four times without it. On windy summer weekends, there can be 100 kiters on the campsite beach. But even they spread out perfectly thanks to the large sandy launch area and plenty of space on the water. The spot works in all wind directions except east. North and south winds run perfectly sideshore. There are practically no waves, the water is extremely flat and the standing area is huge. The wind at the kitespot Wismar / Pepelow is usually 2 to 5 knots stronger than at the two kitespots Zierow and Wohlenberger Wiek. A kite school is constantly giving lessons to several students, so keep your distance! Small
Fish stall with good Bismarck rolls, no restaurant, only Dixie.
Kitespots Wismar: Rerik. 30 km north-east of Wismar, Rerik lies on a peninsula bordering the Salzhaff to the north. The seaward side offers a wide beach, generally even stronger winds than Pepelow in the north and west and is the only spot with really big waves. On sunny days the beach is well frequented, I couldn’t find any rules for kiting, nor could I find a kite school. But it should be allowed, there’s plenty of space to the west. I was only there for one day, but I left straight away because the rip-off artists from Rerik wanted €4 for parking and €2 for using the beach.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.