Honeyguide Yalou joins us for a day of surfing in Wijk aan Zee. She gets surf lessons from Dutch champion wave surfer Anne Albers, a born and bred Wijk aan Zeese who knows her way around the water. Read Yalou's experience.
The weather is stormy. The North Sea almost seems to overflow in the dark clouds hanging ominously over Wijk aan Zee. The drab steel factory in the background - Tata Steel - completes the picture. I find the contrast extraordinary; how something so ugly, gives such a characteristic atmosphere to this otherwise idyllic village.
Longboard champion - Surf lesson from a
Today I receive surfing lessons from professional surfer Anne Albers. We walk to the sea packed and with our surfboard wedged under our arms. A westerly wind pushes the waves wildly towards the beach. "It is not the most ideal surfing weather," Anne says as we start our warm-up at the water's edge. She should know. This born-and-bred Wijk aan Zeese has been in the water since she was 15.
As little girls, she and a surfing friend tied their boards to a wagon and braved the high dunes towards the pier on their bikes. Meanwhile, Anne's boards - plural - are in the shed on the beach and she can be found in the water whenever she can.
In 2018, she became Dutch Longboarding Champion and last year she was part of Team Netherlands at the World Longboarding Championships in Biarritz, France, where the team finished fifteenth. At home in her 'Wijk', she trains hard and also trains the next generation of surfers as a surf instructor. Not that I am one of them, but it is still nice to discover that surfing is also possible in the Netherlands. Even at competition level. This summer I don't need to go to Bali or Portugal, Wijk aan Zee will do.
Longboarding vs shortboarding - The difference:
Anne started surfing on a small board. Within wave surfing, there are roughly two styles: shortboarding and longboarding "In the surfing world, there is a notion that you 'have' to be a shortboarder, that it is 'tougher'. I went full-on for that too at first." She entered competitions and enjoyed shortboarding, until she stepped on a longboard for the first time three years ago. "I immediately noticed that that is much more my thing. Longboarding feels a bit like being one with the wave. You flow more, you glide more with the wave. Shortboarding is a bit more radical and faster."
Anne explains that the Dutch waves are more suitable for a longboard. A bigger board gives more volume to get into the relatively smaller Dutch waves easier and longer. "Longboarding is a bit the underrated child within surfing, which is a real shame. I see so many people struggling with a small board, while it really depends on what style you prefer and what the weather conditions are that day." That's why she wants to put longboarding more on the map.
Today, I myself start on a softtop: a beginner's board that is more like a longboard than a shortboard. After warming up, I get the necessary instructions from Anne. "You have to feel the wave and surf with it," Anne says. She tells me what to look out for in terms of waves and current. And she shows me the right way to go from a lying to a standing position. Here on the sand it all looks easy, so full of courage I step into the cold water.
Surfing in the Netherlands - Wijk aan Zee
"You can actually surf all along the Dutch coast. But not every spot is equally good. That has everything to do with sandbanks and objects like a pier or a dam," Anne explains to me. "Surf spots like Wijk aan Zee, Scheveningen and near the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam are just a bit better than other beaches in that respect." I look at the pier on my left. It stretches for quite a distance, with a little lighthouse at the far end that seems minuscule next to the passing cargo ships. Supplies for Tata Steel and the ferry to England. "But in the end, it has everything to do with the conditions of the day." So although I am at one of the best surf spots in the Netherlands, the weather (or is it Tata Steel?) throws a bit of a spanner in the works.
We start close to the coast. Child's play for Anne. Together, we catch the first wave that comes our way. "Paddle!" Anne calls out to me. I paddle a little harder and follow the instructions I was given on the beach: push up, back foot first and stand. "Bend your knees," I obey obediently and fly across the water. I do get that kick Anne is talking about. How cool it is to play with nature like this!
Flying hangfives - Anne in her element
For the time being, it remains the beginner's luck that I have just tasted. I'm under my board more often than on it, but that shouldn't spoil the fun. Anne wants to catch some bigger waves in the back and I do my best to get behind the surf as well. Where she seems to dive smoothly through the oncoming waves, I get washed off my board several times before I can finally rest like a drowned cat behind the high waves.
I look at Anne and how she is in her element here. Sitting on her board, she reads the waves. How they roll in and break. Where the current manoeuvres them and which is best to ride. To an untrained eye like mine, all waves look surfable, but Anne knows exactly what the possibilities are with each wave. She knows exactly where to put her energy. Like a predator, she waits patiently for the right prey to roll by. Then she springs into action.
She turns her board and lies on it with her belly. With chest-crawl movements, she paddles to get the right speed. When the wave takes her up, she gives just that extra push and rises. Supporting herself on her arms at first, she then puts her feet underneath and stands upright on her board with her knees bent. The wave thunders on towards the shore, but Anne deftly steers her board with the length of the wave.
Longboarders are known for dancing on their boards and so does Anne. She plays with the elements of balance, gravity and the water. While surfing, she deftly 'dances' to the front tip of her board, where she briefly balances over the edge with all five toes of her front foot. A hang five. When she senses that the balance is disturbed, she quickly dances back to the balance point of her board. As the wave nears its end, she drops into the water.
Plastic on the beach - Living with nature
After more than an hour of surfing, we walk back across the beach at Wijk aan Zee. My toes are numb, a stark contrast to my upper body, which is taut with exertion. Anne doesn't seem to be bothered by anything. Not from the cold, nor from the effort she has put in. For her, surfing is the same as cycling. With her board on her head, she effortlessly sinks through her knees to pick up a stray piece of plastic. "It's bizarre how much plastic people leave lying around," she says as we walk on. The rubbish bin is a little further on. A little further on, our warm jumpers lie and a well-deserved cup of tea awaits us at Timboektoe beach pavilion. Anne greets the acquaintances she meets. This beach and the sea are her home, that much is clear to me.
