The Rum Regatta (also spelled Rumregatta, Danish: Romregatta) is the largest gaff-rigged sailing meeting in Northern Europe. Since 1980, every year on the weekend after Ascension Day, well over 100 participating ships meet on the Flensburg Inner Fjord for a regatta that is more reminiscent of a “unserious squadron trip”. read more…
Planet of the German Navy is the most modern naval research ship within NATO. It was built as a SWATH design in order to reduce the hull volume and to increase the ship’s stability, particularly in high seas and at high speed. It is used for geophysics and naval technology trials and research. While technically not armed, it is equipped with torpedo launch capability. Other weapons systems can be installed for weapon trials. read more…
Roald Amundsen (often abbreviated Roald; named in honor of Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen), originally named Vilm, is a German steel-ship built on the Elbe River in 1952. Having worked in different areas, she was refitted in 1992 to 1993 as a brig (two-masted square-rigged sailing ship) and now serves as a sail training ship. During summer, she usually operates in the Baltic Sea, and usually embarks for journeys to farther destinations for winter, including several trans-Atlantic crossings. read more…
The GEOMAR – Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), former Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (German: Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften, IFM-GEOMAR), is a research institute in Kiel, Germany. It was formed in 2004 by merging the Institute for Marine Science (Institut für Meereskunde Kiel, (IFM)) with the Research Center for Marine Geosciences (GEOMAR) and is co-funded by both federal and provincial governments. It was a member of the Leibniz Association till 2012 and is coordinator of the FishBase Consortium. Since 2012 it is member of the Helmholtz Association and named GEOMAR – Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The institute operates worldwide in all ocean basins, specialising in climate dynamics, marine ecology and biogeochemistry, and ocean floor dynamics and circulation. GEOMAR offers degree courses in affiliation with the University of Kiel, and operates the Kiel Aquarium and the Lithothek, a repository for split sediment core samples. read more…
Kampen is located north of the island’s main town, Westerland. The municipality is part of the Amt Landschaft Sylt. The local economy is dominated by tourism. The name Kaamp means “a marked out field”. read more…
Rantum is located south of Westerland. The name is frequently associated with the marine goddessRán (Rantum = Rán’s place). It is, however, more likely that the name derives from the old spelling of Raantem, i.e. “settlement at the edge”. Rantum today is located at the narrowest part of the island with a width of only 600 metres. East of the village are the Rantum-Inge, an ample area of salt marshes and the Wadden Sea. To the west, beyond the dunes, the beach faces the open North Sea. read more…
List auf Sylt is the northernmost municipality in Germany, close to Denmark. List was originally a Danish settlement. It was first mentioned in 1292 (Lystum). The original village was destroyed by the great flood of 1364. The settlement was rebuilt further east from the previous location. In the mid-15th century, a church named St. Jürgen was mentioned. In a treaty of 1460, Schleswig and Holstein were linked to the Danish crown, but List remained part of the royal enclaves, small areas of the Kingdom of Denmark situated within the Duchy of Schleswig, but directly controlled by the Danish king. read more…
Keitum is located on the Wadden Sea side of the island. The village fronts on the sea at what is called the Grünes Kliff (green cliff), a mostly vegetation-covered (hence green) escarpment. It stretches along the coast for around 3 kilometres from the eastern edge of the village to the church of St. Severin, north of the village. In 2013, Keitum had a permanent population of around 880. Another 900 people have second homes in the village. read more…