Mr Wiersig, you swam from St. Peter-Ording in North Friesland to the island of Helgoland on Saturday, 48.5 kilometers as the crow flies in 18 hours and 14 minutes.

How are you all?

Bernd Steinle

Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.

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Well, I feel really fit again.

Of course, the arms are still a bit heavy, the tongue is still numb, the nose and mucous membranes are attacked by the salt water.

But that goes away after a few days.

I already know that from other swimming adventures.

You started swimming on Saturday at 0.02 a.m. in St. Peter-Ording.

Why in the middle of the night?

The North Sea is also called the Murder Sea, it is one of the most dangerous waters because of the extreme currents and waves.

We had very good advice from the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in Hamburg, and a BSH employee was also on the escort boat.

I said from the start that I would completely submit to the advice of the current experts, I don't care whether I go swimming at night, in the evening or in the morning.

You can't arrive with any kind of sensitivities.

Midnight on the North Sea, 16 degrees water temperature, you wore bathing pants: How excited was the anticipation of going swimming?

I was just happy that it started.

I'm not the nervous type by nature, and fear is always a bad companion anyway.

Of course, respect is essential when you are exposed to the North Sea, and swimming at night is always special.

But there are no great dangers there as far as maritime life is concerned.

Did you still have encounters in the water?

You always get a few fire jellyfish, but that's normal, that wasn't a problem.

Once I met a school of mackerel, I also saw a few seals.

But what was absolutely fascinating was the sea glow in the night, bio-luminescence in the water that glowed so slightly bluish.

There were also jellyfish that glow green after being touched at night.

That was an unforgettable experience, magical.

Were there any moments when you? Had enough of swimming?

In the open sea, things rarely go as expected.

It is always wise to put aside the personal expectations that one has of such an undertaking right from the start.

The North Sea does what it wants with you.

We had already obtained all possible information from experts, and yet after about twelve hours of swimming the current was such that we only advanced 500 meters per hour.

But that's just the way it is.

You have to come to terms with that.

If you start scolding in the water, you can only lose.

It depends on the mental strength?

60, rather 70 percent are a matter of the head.

The rest is the physique, which of course has to be right.

The best attitude in your head is of no use if you can no longer get your arms apart.

But you can prepare for it.

How did you eat during the 18 hours?

With liquid food, every half hour.

We had quite a swell, people on board the support boat got seasick.

It is important that the food can still be metabolized under "these" conditions.

How were the first steps ashore?

Not as shaky as expected.

I could still stand well.

My wife met me on the beach, there were friends there, many tourists waited on the beach for hours.

It was fantastic.

How did you get the idea to swim to? Heligoland?

It wasn't about setting a record.

I just didn't want to experience the North Sea as a beautiful backdrop like on vacation, but to experience it up close, from the? Perspective of the swimmer.

You have already swum in all the world's oceans, and you were the first German to manage the Ocean Seven, seven straits that are considered to be the greatest challenge in long-distance swimming.

How was the water quality in the North Sea in comparison?

Surprisingly good.

We only came across a few remains of fishing nets, which we were able to salvage and take with us.

Otherwise we hardly noticed any dirt, pollution or plastic waste.

It was a great experience all round.