Skip to main content

Sailing in Switzerland

Sailing - Katharina Wieland Müller  / pixelio.de

Remember Alinghi?  The Swiss sailing boat that won the Americas Cup in 2003 and 2004? Well, maybe you aren't into sailing or were not interested in anything Swiss back then. I remember the first victory in 2003 very clearly. It was all over the news and everyone was saying "Now, who is still claiming that a land-locked country cannot bring forth excellent sailors?!".

Sailing - A Popular Sport in Switzerland

This year we also had some sailors at the olympics but they did not excel at their sport. Nevertheless, sailing is quite popular in Switzerland. Of course not as much as soccer or ice hockey but popular enough to flood lake Zurich with sailing boats once a week. If you've ever been around lake Zurich on a sunny and warm Sunday, you must have noticed the great number of white sails moving quietly over the water. Thousands of sailing boats are registered in the canton of Zurich alone and besides lake Zurich there isn't much water to sail on.

Here, in Switzerland you need a sailing license to sail boats with a sail area of more than 15sqm. I got my sailing license last year after a summer with little wind and cold fall afternoons. After putting in hours and hours on a beautiful wooden boat I heard the examiner say those longed for words: You passed! Since then I am allowed to rent and use sailing boats of any size here in Switzerland (and on every European lake).

And that is exactly what I plan to do this weekend. Not on lake Zurich (even if it would be much closer) but on Lake Neuchâtel which is in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Actually, Lake Neuchâtel is the largest lake of Switzerland that is completely inside Switzerland. Compared to lake Zurich the sailing conditions on Lake Neuchâtel are much better: more wind, more constant wind and larger distances that can be sailed.




More information:

For more information about sailing in Zurich and Switzerland consult the website of the Zurich Schiffahrtskontrolle. If you are looking for a sailing school I recommend Veleta in Kilchberg.





© 2012 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2017 at 4:15 PM

    did you know that zero sailors on the americas cups winning yacht alinghi were actually from switzerland? - they were all from New Zealand mate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Irene WyrschSeptember 8, 2017 at 2:28 AM

      I didn't. Wikipedia says the Alinghi team that won the Americas Cup was mainly from NZ but with team members from Switzerland, Germany, Uk, Australia, etc. I haven't found a list of only the actual sailors.

      Delete

Post a Comment

You have something to add or would like to ask a question? I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

Kiss -  Oliver Haja  / pixelio.de If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli" . Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one. Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüs li " means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjamin li , Esther li or Fabienne li . I tried to come up with a colle
3 comments
Read more

How to Say 'I Love You' in Swiss German

To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like
3 comments
Read more

Panache, a Swiss Mixed Beer

Next to our daily coffee fix , we Swiss really enjoy our ' Feierabendbier '. This literally means 'quitting time beer' and refers to a beer drunk in the after-work hours. Maybe we're not quite like the Irish who are said to go straight to the pub after work but many of us still like to enjoy a good cold beer when we get home. Much like with coffee , where people usually like it either strong or not, there are Swiss people who don't like their beers to be strong. Especially so after a long day of work. This is when we usually opt for a typical Swiss mixed beer called ' Panache '. Panache Beer - KFM  / pixelio.de Mixed beers or beer drinks are a great alternative to 'real' beers. I'm not talking about pre-mixed beer that is sold in supermarkets. Those suck! Good mixed beer is made on the spot with beer and a soft drink, syrup, liquor or other interesting ingredients. The most famous of all Swiss mixed beers is the Panache, pronounce
2 comments
Read more