Rømø

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Rømø:

A couple of centuries ago this island was part of firm land along a fairly straight coastline. Then, in the 16th century, the mighty north sea sent a powerfull storm and swept away a big part of the land. Now the coastline is a bout 30km further inland and only a string of islands marks the ancient shores. One of them is Rømø, a flat island mostly consisting of sand with a sparse dune vegetation. It´s been reconnected to the mainland by a dam that runs for about 15km through the marsh lands, emptied and flooded in the rhythm of the tides.

The island is blessed with a large sandy beach on the west facing the open sea. You can drive on that beach with Your car and therefore easily access the ocean. This is one of the reasons why the island is extensively frequented by all kind of ocean loving tourist. On the east coast are some older settlements and a small fishing harbour, which has a ferry to neighbouring island Sylt. The northeast is a natural sanctuary. Camp grounds and holliday cottages are found in great numbers all over the island. Camping wild is absolutely forbidden and mercilessly controlled and punished by danish police, so use the abundant tourist facilites if You want to stay on the island.

Sitting that far away from the mainland, Rømø ist very exposed to the open sea, which means, that wind and waves come unhindered to it´s shores. That´s why, besides the many families that come for holidays, plenty of windsurfers, kiteboarders and even some surfers come to the island.

windsurfing: there is two signed windsurfing areas at the large north sea beach. Winds from the south work best and can bring classic sideshore wavesailing conditions. Westerly winds come onshore and bring chaotic waves. Winds from the north again bring sideshore conditions but little waves as northerly swells are mostly blocked by the danish mainland. The place is pretty good for the first steps into wavesailing as long as winds do not get too strong. Be carefull with parking Your car close to shore as the combination of high tide and strong westerly winds sometimes results in quick flooding of the beach.

surfing: there is no jetties or reefs or bends in the coastline that can give order to the chaotic and windplagued north sea waves here. Currents get strong easily. The only chance for halfway satisfying surf sessions is when the wind drops or turns east rapidly after a storm. Than You´ll have maybe half a day with good conditions. The longer running north / northwest swells usually don´t reach Romo. For beginners on a big enough board who are willing to paddle a lot and withstand the currents there is still some occasions for some short rides though.

kiteboarding: perfect location. Very large beach and sideon to onshore winds make it a safe place for some fun in not too powerfull waves. Very popular with kiteboarders now which means heavy trafic at the usual launching site. There is so much room here so if you seek some solitude just go a bit upwind.

Check the galleries (the place, windsurf, kiteboarding) and the info board for more impressions!

for actual wind and wave conditions and accurate forcasts check:

 

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