Since time immemorial the Dutch have battled the ranging, reaching forces of the sea. Zeeland is no exception.
The Dutch province of Zeeland (Sea-Land), in the west of the country, consists of low-lying land adrift in a vast delta into which the Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt Rivers drain.
It has been an area of constant flooding over the centuries with 2 floods of biblical proportion. In 1421 a flood took 100 000 lives and devastation struck again more recently in 1953 with 2000 lives lost and hundreds of miles of dykes devastated. The latter inspired what is referred to as the Delta Works.
The Delta Works is a huge construction project that aimed to protect large areas of land from the sea by the construction of dykes, docks, levees, and storm surge barriers. It took over 50 years to complete although it is acknowledged that the project will need to be somewhat ongoing with rising sea levels.
With the sheer amount of flat water and exposure to the elements, it is also a windsurfers’ paradise. We did two trips to Zeeland. The first was for sightseeing and a day trip. The second was to windsurf in 8 degree Celsius temperatures (not taking into account the wind chill!) with hundreds of other enthusiasts who partied in a large tent sponsored by Red Bull and Vodka. We rented an apartment for that weekend.
