Yacht charter on Swiss Lakes

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castoffandgone

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Watching Michael Portillo's TV show on his train journey through Switzerland I got some glimpses of some of the Swiss lakes and wondered if they might be a good alternative to bare boat chartering on the Med. If I remember correctly, we saw glimpses of Lakes Geneva, Lucerne and Lugano. Has anyone any experience of chartering there?
 
No experience myself, but i believe one needs a Swiss skippers certificate to be in charge of a vessel over a certain HP and certain sq. m. Sail area. I dont think there are any charter companies per se but I could be wrong.
 
bbg said:
No experience myself, but i believe one needs a Swiss skippers certificate to be in charge of a vessel over a certain HP and certain sq. m. Sail area. I dont think there are any charter companies per se but I could be wrong.
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I seem to recall that during several years of holidays at Interlaken (between lakes Thun and Brienze), I made some enquiries and found that this was the case; that you had to have appropriate local qualifications to sail on the lakes. I never investigated further to find if experience or other national qualifications could be used instead.

In common with most lakes in mountainous areas, I'd imagine it is a tricky place to sail, with frequent rapid wind-shifts and unpredictable gusts.
 
Good topic. I watched this too and wondered the same. How would I get on with my trailer sailer? I was thinking of a combo sailing / TdF watching holiday one July.
 
castoffandgone said:
Watching Michael Portillo's TV show on his train journey through Switzerland I got some glimpses of some of the Swiss lakes and wondered if they might be a good alternative to bare boat chartering on the Med. If I remember correctly, we saw glimpses of Lakes Geneva, Lucerne and Lugano. Has anyone any experience of chartering there?
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I think Portillo went from Basel, through Zürich and Lucerne, which showed the lakes of Zürich and Lucerne - on which he took the steamer from Flüelen. He may have touched on Brienzersee and/or Thunersee when accessing Grindelwald for the Jungfraujoch.

There are various sailing schools that rent out sailing boats but without a Swiss licence you will be limited to 16 sq metre of sail. I have day-rented a soling on Thunersee which falls into that category but I know of nothing larger available.

The larger lakes, Geneva, Constance and Neuchâtel (the largest lake entirely in Switzerland) may have something but I personally would doubt it.

When I did have my own boats - all dinghies - the wind was often too little and it is common for yachts sailing in Switzerland to have larger rigs than similar craft elsewhere.

Far better, I would think, would be to go to Lake Garda in Italy, similar beautiful scenery but, I have been told, better winds.
 
Ru88ell said:
Good topic. I watched this too and wondered the same. How would I get on with my trailer sailer? I was thinking of a combo sailing / TdF watching holiday one July.
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I don't recall seeing any suitable launch sites, and I spent several summer holidays on and around the Thunersee and Brienzersee, taking the lake steamers quite often. The lake shore is mostly quite steep. As the lake steamers tend to remain fairly close to the shore, hopping from village to village, I think I'd have noticed anything like a public slip. Most lakeside facilities belong to hotels or are private.

Switzerland is in general a very organized country, so if you CAN do it, I'd expect it to be efficiently organized with a great deal of attention to detail!
 
Ru88ell said:
Good topic. I watched this too and wondered the same. How would I get on with my trailer sailer? I was thinking of a combo sailing / TdF watching holiday one July.
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"TdF watching" ? :confused:

I used to keep my Fireball and 470 and launch on Thunersee at Neuhaus by Interlaken, also at Gwatt near Thun. On Murtensee at Faoug near Murten I kept a Kestral, quite a heavy boat to launch and recover on the slip there. There is usually a ramp everywhere you see a sailing boat parked on a Trockenplatz and just about always where there is a port or marina - it's a question of local knowledge. The problem is likely to be where will you moor/park the boat when not actually sailing.
 
I suspected that there must be some form of restriction as Google doesn't show up the usual extensive list of charter companies and the TV glimpses didn't show many yachts sailing or marinas in the background shots.
C'est la vie
 
I spent my summer holiday on the French shore of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman to the French) without the boat but looked into the possibility of going back with it in the future. There were numerous small harbours and marinas with launching facilities and space for visitors. I didn't look into the Swiss side as I am sure that it would have been much more expensive. The rules for both the skipper and boat are available at: http://www.haute-savoie.equipement-...aviguez-en-toute-securite-sur-le-a151022.html I am sorry I don't think they are available in English, but google translate does a good enough job. I noticed a couple of sailing schools but no charter companies.
 
Yes, as others point out, you need a special permit to sail on the German and Swiss inland lakes. I spent a month going to evening schools in to qualify for my "BodenseeSchein" - the only new thing I learnt was "Sie durfen nie in den See pinkeln".

Unfortunately my BodenseeSchein is only valid for Lake Constance - if I want to sail on Lac Leman I need to go to night school to be told "il est formalement interdit a uriner dans le lac"
 
Is it not a bit more than ridiculous that a nation with the vast maritime heritage of Switzerland - of all places - makes such stipulations on the Hp and sail area of a boat you are "allowed" to use on an overgrown inland pond?

Thank Christ the exploration of the world in the 15th century wasn't led by people with the imagination, open-mindedness, foresight and tolerance of these bureaucratic f@ckwits.
 
Is it not a bit more than ridiculous that a nation with the vast maritime heritage of Switzerland - of all places - makes such stipulations on the Hp and sail area of a boat you are "allowed" to use on an overgrown inland Q MASH

I think you are being a hard on them , think Eco green enviroment etc,
They do not want to pollute those lovely freshwater lakes ,hence regulation.
Also they could be argued a bit more democratic, and accountable - by way of referendums.
If 3 Catons vote in favour or an issue ( like licence to use lakes) then the whole confederation is forced.
So they could change the " Law" on the Lakes if they wish .
Recently they voted to 1- keep an assault rifle under the stairs ( U45 s?)
2- To ban mosque minorrettes being built.
3 - limet to No of 2nd homes ( cold beds ).
When you live there and get to know how they work , it all makes perfect sence .CH = confederation of Helvetia
To an outsider I can see how it looks
None EU it's great ,
 
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I've hired on Lac Lemain, near to the Jet d'eau. Little Archambault 25 footer with 4 berths

Wouldn't accept Yachtmaster, but did accept ICC with French translation from the RYA website. Were happy with only one non-novice onboard.

Certainly didn't need any special night classes or nonsense like that.

Seem to remember having to leave an ID card as deposit.

http://www.lescorsaires.ch/fr/
 
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MASH said:
Is it not a bit more than ridiculous that a nation with the vast maritime heritage of Switzerland - of all places - makes such stipulations on the Hp and sail area of a boat you are "allowed" to use on an overgrown inland pond?
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It gets worse. When the wind really gets up and it becomes interesting, lakeside strobe lights start flashing and all vessels must return to port. Water police will fine anyone still out on the lake. I keep my boat in Italy where I am untouched by any bureaucracy whatsoever - it is an easy half a day's drive but a bit too far for a weekend.

Nevertheless, Switzerland still manages to offer a quality of life second to none. It was first in The Economist's "where-to-be-born index, 2013" - the UK was 27th.
 
Geneva lake

Came accross this post a "bit" late, but if that helps, please find below some local input which applies to the Geneva lake:

AntarcticPilot said:
frequent rapid wind-shifts and unpredictable gusts.
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Yes, but for all of you tough guys from the high seas, nothing that you can't master. During the summer, it's more about finding (for better enjoying your verre de rosé bien frais) the morning/evening thermics which are extremely local and weak. At my place for example, we have one called Jaman which comes down the mountain and blows 1 hour after sunset and covers roughly an area of only 1x1NM.


Barnac1e said:
The larger lakes, Geneva, Constance and Neuchâtel (the largest lake entirely in Switzerland) may have something but I personally would doubt it.

When I did have my own boats - all dinghies - the wind was often too little and it is common for yachts sailing in Switzerland to have larger rigs than similar craft elsewhere.
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To my knowledge you can only charter ski boats or daycruisers. I didn't now that there was at least a sailboat offered for charter on the french side. Typical lake boats, have indeed oversized riggs.
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AntarcticPilot said:
I don't recall seeing any suitable launch sites, and I spent several summer holidays on and around the Thunersee and Brienzersee, taking the lake steamers quite often. The lake shore is mostly quite steep. As the lake steamers tend to remain fairly close to the shore, hopping from village to village, I think I'd have noticed anything like a public slip. Most lakeside facilities belong to hotels or are private.
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There are many public slips, they are generally free. Check out those links, you'll find your info under "Slip (rampe inclinée)": http://www.sisl.ch/port/index_lac.htm & http://www.ports-du-leman.ch/

Bear in mind, that you should theoretically register or at least take contact the "Service de la Navigation" of the Canton where you lauch your boat. They will issue you a monthly authorisation, if they bother. And normally, they must recognise all skipper licences which are valid in your homeland. But the Gendarmerie has only 7 men for covering nearly all the lake, and you'll see them patrolling with their big Targa mostly only during regattas like the Bol d'Or, or checking boaters visiting shore based events like the Jazz Festival.


Portofino said:
...they could be argued a bit more democratic, and accountable - by way of referendums. If 3 Catons vote in favour or an issue (like licence to use lakes) then the whole confederation is forced. So they could change the " Law" on the Lakes if they wish .
Recently they voted to 1- keep an assault rifle under the stairs ( U45 s?)
2- To ban mosque minorrettes being built.
3 - limet to No of 2nd homes ( cold beds ).
When you live there and get to know how they work , it all makes perfect sence .CH = confederation of Helvetia
To an outsider I can see how it looks
None EU it's great ,
Click to expand...
It's not exactly that way. For important votes (i.e. for modifications to the constitution which is initiated by at least 100.000 citizens who sign a so called "popular initiative"), there must be a majority of cantons AND voters. For normal referendums the simple majority suffices. Therefore 3 cantons cannot enforce their will to the whole confederation. And for some subjects like speed limits on highways or lake regulations, the citizens have no influence on it. This subjects are covered by ordinances which are the sole competence of the federal council (government).
1. I keep indeed my duty SIG-550 and P-220 in my cave (moved it there after wife nearly had an heart attack when she found out that I forget the thing under our bed). And yes, strange indeed that citizens recently voted against leaving riffles at arsenals. Maybe for tradition reasons? Still nowdays, every village has a 300m. shooting range, and for some it's a hobby going there Saturday whereas they are not obliged to do so anymore (but I still have to, and I missed for two years now and the fine begins to be steep).
2. People actually don't care about minarets, and it is still allowed to build mosques. It's just that general intolerance raised about a part of the population which doesn't sees it necessary to integrate and adopt one day or another local habits. Simple things like speaking our languages, or letting kids going to sports our swim courses at school, etc.
3. Yep, but that comes too late. Meanwhile, so many places experienced such a surge in real estate prices that normal people cannot afford it anymore. -> We believe that cold beds contributed to this problem.

Barnac1e said:
It gets worse. When the wind really gets up and it becomes interesting, lakeside strobe lights start flashing and all vessels must return to port. Water police will fine anyone still out on the lake.
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Hmmm, yes the flashing lights (40 rpm and 120 rpm I think) signalise a coming storm, but I didn't now that you are obliged to go in port. And I never heard of anybody beeing fined for anything on the lake?!

Sorry for beeing sometimes off-topic. Just shout if you need more infos!
 
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