Map › Germany › Fehmarn › Pelzerhaken

Ostsee (Schleswig-Holstein) · Lübecker Bucht · Kreis Ostholstein · Neustadt in Holstein

Pelzerhaken

also known as Pelze

beginner-friendlyhigh crowds

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Heiligenhafen Kitebeach 33 km · Gollendorf 40 km · Strukkamp 40 km · Gold auf Fehmarn 40 km · Wulfener Hals 41 km · Grüner Brink 52 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy17-21 knotssynoptic Launchmoderateaccess rules on record, below WaterBaltic Sea beach / shallow sandbar area17°C in summer · 15 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airportno transfer time publishedHamburg Airport

When it fills in

Synoptic wind with no daily onset: it blows for as long as the gradient holds, through the night as well. What does change with position rather than hour is the point itself. On south to southwest days there is often one to two Beaufort more out by the Pelzerhaken lighthouse, and the walk is worth it.

Pelzerhaken sits in the western Luebecker Bucht, part of Neustadt in Holstein, and the reason people drive here is the sandbank system: standing depth hundreds of meters from shore.

Inside the banks the water is flat to choppy, which is where the lessons, freeride and freestyle happen; on a strong easterly or onshore day the outer banks throw up waves you can ride. Easterly is the wind everyone wants, and on those days the beach fills up. Rettin, next door, is the overflow.

Kiters and windsurfers are split by zone, and the buoyed bathing zone and the boat field are off limits. Two things beginners should know: northeast wind makes the inside very choppy, and a long west wind pushes the water off the sandbanks until there is barely any left.

The wind

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

synoptic

fills in: Synoptic wind with no daily onset: it blows for as long as the gradient holds, through the night as well. What does change with position rather than hour is the point itself. On south to southwest days there is often one to two Beaufort more out by the Pelzerhaken lighthouse, and the walk is worth it.

Typical strength

Most sessions here sit somewhere between 13 and 27 knots, 4 to 6 Beaufort. Around 5 Beaufort, roughly 17-21 knots, is the local reference point: a solid northeasterly at that strength puts enough water over the sandbanks to clear a fin, and it is also where the inside starts getting choppy. Indicative rather than measured. The beach station that once reported here stopped in 2012.

Baltic synoptic wind with highly direction-dependent water state. Easterly winds are popular because the bay/sandbanks create a large shallow riding area; stronger onshore/easterly wind can produce rideable waves on the outer banks.

Best months unconfirmed. Summer is busy and full of schools; the strong-wind and wave days come with Baltic fronts.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic Baltic wind; no local thermal pattern on record

Also on record

The quiver, in words

Indicative, converted from the wind band rather than taken from a published local table. At 75-85 kg a 12 m covers the 14-17 knot days, 9-10 m the 18-22 band, and 7-8 m from about 25 up, which on a strong easterly is also when the outer banks start throwing a ramp. A 12 and a 9 cover most of the year.

Direction to shore

East comes in cross-onshore from the left. Northeast is exactly side-shore from the left, but under the land it bends slightly offshore, which is what makes launching a kite awkward on that direction. Southeast and south are onshore and cross-onshore from the right, and both are rare.Southwest blows side-shore from the right and usually leaves the sandbanks shallow. West is cross-offshore. Northwest is fully offshore, good only for first steps in the shallows under the land.

Dominant direction

Best from southwest, and from southeast round to east; it also works from northeast through northwest. The sandbanks shelter it from east through southeast to south. Easterly is the wind everyone shows up for.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan82
Feb78
Mar61
Apr74
May62
Jun56
Jul70
Aug47
Sep51
Oct70
Nov70
Dec66

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

16Jan5°
16Feb4°
12Mar5°
13Apr8°
12May14°
12Jun19°
13Jul20°
11Aug20°
12Sep19°
13Oct14°
14Nov10°
14Dec6°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	82%	16 kt	WSW	3.7°C	4.6°C
Feb	78%	15.9 kt	W	4.7°C	4°C
Mar	61%	12.4 kt	ENE	5.4°C	5°C
Apr	74%	13.4 kt	ENE	7.6°C	8.1°C
May	62%	12.4 kt	ENE	13.1°C	13.6°C
Jun	56%	11.6 kt	ENE	16.6°C	18.7°C
Jul	70%	12.8 kt	W	17.8°C	19.8°C
Aug	47%	11 kt	W	18.9°C	20.2°C
Sep	51%	11.6 kt	E	15.9°C	18.9°C
Oct	70%	13.4 kt	SSW	12°C	13.9°C
Nov	70%	13.5 kt	SW	6.5°C	9.6°C
Dec	66%	13.8 kt	WSW	3.7°C	5.7°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. 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.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

Baltic Sea beach / shallow sandbar area

Standing depth

Standing depth reaches almost 700 m out, all the way to the outer sandbanks.

Tides

No tidal window worth planning around. Westerly wind pushes the water off the sandbanks and drops the level.

Temperature

17°C summer · 3°C winter

Wetsuit

Use a wetsuit most of the year; a shorty may be possible on warm summer days, while spring/autumn require a full suit and winter requires thick cold-water neoprene.

Currents

A current sets south along the shore and it strengthens with the wind. On east and northeast days the harder it blows, the higher the water and the stronger the set, and the standing area shrinks at the same time.Go down out at the banks on a big day and you can end up in the Neustaedter Bucht with a long swim back.

4–20°C water

Fine sand, several sandbanks, flat to choppy inside and small to moderate waves on the outer banks when the wind is strong from the east or onshore. Stones and shells at the waterline.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

The big standing-depth sandbank area and the school make it a sound beginner spot in moderate wind. Northeast wind turns it choppy and much less forgiving. Advanced riders wait for strong easterly or onshore days and use the outer banks as ramps.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestyleshallow-water progressionsmall-wave ridingbeginner progressionshallow-water practicewindsurfingwingfoiling

Established Baltic hotspot with school infrastructure and many kiters, especially on easterly winds; it is very popular and often full.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: moderate

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Heiligenhafen Kitebeach, 33 km

Heiligenhafen Kitebeach Gollendorf Strukkamp

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 53687-0

DLRG lifeguards cover the beach sections from Pelzerhaken to Rettin from 1 May to 30 September, working out of the DLRG station at Pelzerhaken on 04561 528622, a purpose-built station opened in 2012. A yellow flag means a bathing warning, a red flag a bathing ban.

On the water, sea rescue answers on VHF channel 16 or through MRCC Bremen on +49 421 53687-0, around the clock. General emergencies 112.

Launch

Beach launch around Sail & Surf on Auf der Pelzerwiese, with parking close by, beach access and rigging on grass or sand. Zone rules split the water: kiters take the kite side, windsurfers the other.

Space

moderate

Hazards riders report 15

stones and shells near the waterline
very shallow water over sandbanks when west wind lowers the water level
shared water with windsurfers and SUP users
Stones and shells near the waterline.
Very shallow sandbanks, especially when westerly wind lowers water level.
Choppy water in northeast wind, less suitable for beginners.
Shared area with windsurfers, wingfoilers, SUP users and school traffic.
Badezone between surf areas where kiting and windsurfing are forbidden.
Boats/boat field where local school rules say not to kite or windsurf.
Crowding on popular easterly wind days.
Groynes: visible stone rows built out into the water, right where you walk in.
Buoys in the water on the way out.
Current setting south, stronger the stronger the wind, with the standing area shrinking as it builds.
Sea grass piling up in front of the beach in northeasterly wind.
Gusty, sheltered-under-the-land wind at the beach on easterlies, awkward for launching and landing.

Rules & access

2026: kiters go in on the water left of the stone mole at the main beach entrance and windsurfers right of it, with extra room left for beginners and for the surf-school groups.
2026: a buoy-marked lane is reserved for windsurfers and kites stay off it.
2021: windsurfers ride luff (upwind), kiters lee (downwind), and the bathing zones are off limits. The Badezone between Surfstrand Pelzerhaken and the school spot is closed to windsurfing and kitesurfing, marked by large white buoys and starting behind the dog-beach marker; the boat field is off limits too. Pelzerhaken is an assigned kitesurfing zone shared with windsurfers.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Check the wind direction before rigging; the luff/lee split between windsurfers and kiters moves with it.
Stay out of the buoyed bathing zone between the surf areas and away from the boat field.
On a busy easterly, drive to Rettin instead.
After a long westerly, check the depth over the sandbanks before you commit.
Wear booties if shells and stones at the waterline bother you.
The beach right by the car park fills first. Walk a few minutes north or south and there is room to rig.
Watch for the groynes and the buoys on the way in.
On south to southwest days, walk out toward the lighthouse on the point for one or two Beaufort more.
Kiters use the water left of the stone mole at the main beach entrance, windsurfers the right.

Getting there

Airport

Hamburg Airport

Route

Pelzerhaken is part of Neustadt in Holstein on the Luebecker Bucht, about one hour by car from Hamburg or Kiel. Follow signs through Neustadt to Pelzerhaken and the beach and watersports area.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Holiday flats, campsites and beach-resort rooms around Pelzerhaken and Neustadt in Holstein; kite-package lodging unconfirmed.

No-wind days

SUP and wing-surfing lessons · windsurfing · beach time in Pelzerhaken · cycling around Luebecker Bucht · Neustadt in Holstein harbor · Hansa-Park in Sierksdorf

Photos

Blick zum "Hohen Ufer" von der Seebrücke bei Pelzerhaken - panoramio — qwesy qwesy, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is it suitable for beginners?

Yes. The large standing-depth sandbank area and local school support beginners in moderate conditions, though northeast wind can turn choppy.

What is the wind like?

Southwest and southeast-to-east are named as best, with easterly wind especially popular because it fills the sandbank area with wind.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Windsurfers use the upwind side and kiters the downwind side, and a buoyed bathing zone between the surf areas is off-limits to both.

What hazards should I know about?

Stones and shells near the waterline, sandbanks that go very shallow after westerly wind, and crowding on popular easterly days.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Sail & Surf Pelzerhaken and Surfschule Pelzerhaken both operate at the spot.

Last updated: August 2026