Map › Germany › Ostsee — Falckensteiner Strand to Surendorf › Bülker Leuchtturm
Ostsee (Schleswig-Holstein) · Kieler Förde · Strande
Bülker Leuchtturm
also known as Strande - Bülker Leuchtturm, Bülk, Bülker Huk
Nearby Laboe 5 km · Falckensteiner Strand 6 km · Heidkate 8 km · Surendorf 8 km · Grönwohld 11 km · Lindhöft 15 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
No daily cycle to wait for. This is synoptic Baltic wind that runs day and night while the system sits over the western Baltic, and the wave keeps improving for every extra day an easterly holds. Plan by the front and by how long it has been blowing, not by the hour.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
synoptic
fills in: No daily cycle to wait for. This is synoptic Baltic wind that runs day and night while the system sits over the western Baltic, and the wave keeps improving for every extra day an easterly holds. Plan by the front and by how long it has been blowing, not by the hour.
Typical strength
No spot-level average is published. The reference points are Beaufort: the long Baltic swell lines only start running from about 6 Bft, roughly 22-27 knots, and the big Stoller Grund wave needs 7 Bft and up, 28-33 knots. Below that you get a plain freeride day on chop. On the west and southwest side the forecast tends to under-read, with one to two Beaufort more than predicted off Strande a common outcome.
Thermal or synoptic
synoptic Baltic/fjord wind
The quiver, in words
Nothing published locally. Reading it off the Beaufort thresholds, a 75-85 kg rider is on 11-12 m for an ordinary 15-18 knot day, 8-9 m once it hits the 6 Bft wave threshold, and 6-7 m in the 7 Bft weather that turns Stoller Grund on.Bring the small kites: the days worth travelling for are the hard ones (indicative, derived from the Beaufort thresholds rather than measured).
Direction to shore
Easterly is the money wind and comes in sideshore from the left with the swell behind it; the longer it blows, the better the wave. Northeast makes it short and steep at the lighthouse. Northwest is sideshore from the left as well, but only after you walk the gear around the point to the far side.West and southwest are offshore on this side of the fjord, though a nozzle effect off Strande accelerates them hard, and past the small wood the same wind is weaker but steadier.
Dominant direction
SW through E to NE work without wind shadow; NW can work after walking around the lighthouse for sideshore wave conditions.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan76
- Feb63
- Mar65
- Apr58
- May52
- Jun53
- Jul63
- Aug42
- Sep52
- Oct73
- Nov72
- Dec73
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
- 76%Jan4°
- 63%Feb4°
- 65%Mar5°
- 58%Apr8°
- 52%May14°
- 53%Jun19°
- 63%Jul20°
- 42%Aug20°
- 52%Sep18°
- 73%Oct13°
- 72%Nov9°
- 73%Dec5°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 76% | 92% | 89% | 18.9 kt | SW | 13:00 | 3.9°C | 4.2°C | 62 |
| Feb | 63% | 75% | 70% | 17.2 kt | W | 11:00 | 4.9°C | 3.7°C | 57 |
| Mar | 65% | 79% | 71% | 15.9 kt | E | 13:00 | 5.6°C | 5.2°C | 62 |
| Apr | 58% | 77% | 73% | 15.6 kt | E | 13:00 | 7.7°C | 8.2°C | 60 |
| May | 52% | 68% | 60% | 14.5 kt | E | 13:00 | 12.9°C | 13.9°C | 62 |
| Jun | 53% | 67% | 63% | 13.9 kt | W | 14:00 | 16.3°C | 18.8°C | 60 |
| Jul | 63% | 79% | 73% | 15.6 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 17.5°C | 19.6°C | 62 |
| Aug | 42% | 63% | 56% | 13.4 kt | WNW | 14:00 | 18.5°C | 19.8°C | 62 |
| Sep | 52% | 67% | 60% | 14.4 kt | E | 14:00 | 15.8°C | 18.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 73% | 85% | 79% | 17.6 kt | WNW | 14:00 | 11.9°C | 13.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 72% | 80% | 80% | 17 kt | SSW | 11:00 | 6.5°C | 9°C | 60 |
| Dec | 73% | 89% | 82% | 18.2 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 3.8°C | 5.1°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
Baltic Sea headland / wave spot
Standing depth
The shore strip is shallow and stony, enough for a small wave to stand up close in, and then the bottom falls away to open fjord. Stones underfoot, flat stone groynes lying in the water, and no clean standing area to water-start from at leisure. No measured depth is published.
Tides
No tide worth planning for on this stretch of the Baltic.
Temperature
18.7°C summer · 2.6°C winter
Wetsuit
A wetsuit outside high summer. Surface water at Kiel averages around 18.7 C in August and 2.6 C in February.
Currents
Stoller Grund carries a lot of current in strong wind and is not for beginners.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: moderate
Somewhere else
Laboe, 5 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
VHF channel 16+49 421 536 87
Launch
Launch by the Bulk lighthouse on Bulker Huk, reached by following Bulker Weg north through Strande, past the Surf Club Kiel parking areas and on to the lighthouse. Free parking right at the shore, toilets and space to rig near the water.The beach is stony and the entry is stony, with several flat stone groynes lying in the water, so shoes are worth the bother.
Space
moderate
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Do not rig on the windsurf-only Strande beach; carry on to the Bülk lighthouse and follow the watersport signs.
- On a strong easterly forecast, arrive early: the parking at the lighthouse fills once the waves start working.
- Walk the headland and pick your side before you rig, because the wind angle changes fast around the point.
- Leave Stoller Grund alone unless you are set up for offshore current and heavy weather.
- In northwest, plan on carrying the gear around the lighthouse to reach the sideshore setup.
- Do not rig on the windsurf-only Strande beach; carry on to the Bulk lighthouse and follow the watersport signs.
- The longer an easterly has been blowing, the better the wave. Day three of a blow beats day one.
- The sewage outfall is north of the spot, so a northerly puts the dirty water over you. Riders have picked up stomach infections here; a southerly is the cleaner call.
- Wear shoes. The beach is stones and there are flat stone groynes sitting in the water on the way out.
- Save the MRCC Bremen number, +49 421 536 87 0, before you go afloat here.
Getting there
Airport
Hamburg Airport (HAM) is the main practical international airport for Kiel/Strande; Sønderborg (SGD) is geographically closer but smaller.
Route
From Kiel, take the B503 north, turn toward Strande at the Olympic centre, follow the road through Strande, then left onto Bulker Weg and past the Surf Club Kiel parking areas to the lighthouse. About 19 km and 25 minutes from Kiel, about 105 km and an hour and a quarter from Hamburg Airport.Parking at the lighthouse is free but fills fast on a wave day.
Transfer
80 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Strande, Kiel and the Kiel Fjord resort villages have hotels, guesthouses and holiday apartments; no specific kite-stay accommodation is published.
No-wind days
Kiel and Strande beaches · walk or visit Bülker Leuchtturm · sailing and harbor activities on Kiel Fjord · cycling around Dänischer Wohld · day trip into Kiel · SUP or windsurf courses around the Kiel Fjord when conditions fit
Photos
FAQ
Is Bülker Leuchtturm suitable for beginners?
No, the spot involves deep water and wave conditions and is treated as intermediate to advanced, partly because of current risk further out at Stoller Grund.
What is the wind like?
Southwest through east to northeast wind all reach the headland without shadow, with strong easterly wind producing the best onshore wave conditions.
Are there rules to know before launching?
Yes, the neighboring Strande beach is windsurf-only with kiteboarding not permitted, so riders should launch at the Bülk/lighthouse spot instead.
What are the main hazards?
Stoller Grund farther offshore can carry significant current in very strong wind and is not for beginners, and northeast wind produces short, steep waves near the lighthouse.
Last updated: August 2026