Tjark Evers

The young seaman Tjark Ulrich Honken Evers was born on 21 December 1845. His family was closely bound to the North Sea and to the island of Baltrum. His father had been a skipper, and his brother would later become a captain and churchwarden on Baltrum. Tjark himself wanted to train as a mate and therefore attended a navigation school inland in the East Frisian.

In December 1866 he set out on his way home. He wanted to surprise his parents and return unannounced, just before Christmas. Early on the morning of 23 December he boarded a small boat. Together with a man from Langeoog, he was to be taken back to Baltrum across the mist‑covered winter North Sea by a crew of local boatmen.

At first, the boat headed for the beach on Langeoog to drop off the other passenger. From there, the boatmen planned to row on to Baltrum. Thick fog lay over the rough sea and the islands, wrapping everything in a heavy grey. When the boatmen believed that they had reached the beach of Baltrum at a shallow spot, they put in there. The young seaman climbed out, and the boat disappeared once more into the dense white wall.

Only after the boat had vanished from sight did Tjark Evers realise that he was standing on a “Plaat”, a sandbank that is completely swallowed by the cold North Sea at high tide. Around him there was nothing but water and fog. He knew that no one knew he was there and that no one would be coming to look for him.

He quickly grasped that his situation was hopeless. The tide would come in and the sandbank would vanish beneath the sea. In this moment he did something that would make his story remarkable to this day. He took out his notebook and began to write, while he listened to the sound of the incoming tide.

His letter is addressed both to his family and to God. He describes his situation and asks God for forgiveness of his sins and mercy on his soul. He writes that the water has already risen to his knees and that he will soon drown. He notes that it is nine o’clock and that his parents will soon be going to church to celebrate Christmas Eve with the congregation, and he asks them to pray for him.

He begs God to receive him and prays that his family will find his notebook. He ends the letter by signing his name and stating the family he belongs to. Finally, he places the notebook in a cigar box he has brought along as a gift for his father. He wraps the box in a handkerchief to protect it and entrusts it to the waves.

The sea claims Tjark Evers as the tide swallows the sandbank. The cigar box with the gifts and the notebook, however, washes ashore on the island of Wangerooge on 3 January 1867. People walking along the beach find the small wooden box and open it. Inside they discover the notebook with his prayer and farewell letter. After passing through several hands, the cigar box at last reaches his family.

The letter is simple in its structure, and it is precisely this simplicity that makes it so moving. He addresses himself to his family and to God, briefly describes his situation, speaks of fear and of his approaching death. He prays to God for comfort for those left behind and writes that he does not know why fate has given him to the sea. Between the lines there is despair, faith and courage.

Facing death, as the sea is already rushing in around him, he writes a letter, finds words and sets them down. In his final hours, Tjark Evers writes down what matters most to him: his love for his family, his faith and his hope in God.

For generations the Evers family kept the cigar box with the notebook. It was only in 2002 that they handed it over to the Baltrum local heritage association, and since 2007 it has been on display in the “Altes Zollhaus” museum. The small box still tells the story of a young man whose journey home never came to an end.

His story is well known in East Frisia. It is a reminder of how dangerous the North Sea can be, how treacherous fog and tides are. And every year at Christmas it reminds us again how fragile all those things are that we so easily take for granted.

The story of Tjark Evers tells of someone who, on that day, stood alone in the sea. It can be a quiet prompting for us to be grateful for what we have and to perceive more consciously the people who stand beside us.