Classic cars on Bernese roads, golf on Alpine fairways and Optimists on the Arnensee: across three very different summer events, the Gstaad Yacht Club once again found ways to bring its nautical spirit to the mountains.

The Gstaad Yacht Club may be some distance from the sea, but that has never stopped it from putting sailing at the centre of its summer calendar. This year, three very different events took the club from the roads around the Saanenland to the fairways and, finally, onto the waters of the Arnensee.

The 20th Rally & Yachting, held on 7 and 8 August together with the Gstaad Automobile Club, marked two decades of an event that mixes classic motoring with a touch of yachting.

After Friday evening’s local nocturnal challenge, participants headed to The Alpina Gstaad, where the competition switched from four wheels to model boats in the hotel’s outdoor pool.

Saturday brought a new starting point: Gstaad Airport. From there, the field of classic cars and supercars headed north, stopping at P791 AG, The Car Residence in Belp, before lunch in Rüeggisberg and the return journey to Gstaad.

Melih Tara and Ali Tara took first place in their 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Targa, ahead of Stephan Schneider and Jesoen Van Heesewijk in a 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2, with Victor Gutzwiller and Lara Wild third in a 1992 Lancia Delta. For Ali Tara, the victory completed an unusual GYC hat-trick: previous wins in both Ski Yachting and Golf & Yachting now joined by Rally & Yachting.
A week later, on 14 August, attention shifted to the 9th Interclub Golf & Yachting. A greensome tournament filled the morning before the competition moved to Lake Hornberg for the America’s Cup Model Yacht Challenge and an Alpine lunch.

Andres Kernen and Lukas Uehlinger finished first, followed by Gerard de Geer and Jacques-Olivier Thomann, with Nicolas Armengol and Gianluca Biggi taking third place.The summer’s most distinctly nautical project, however, belonged to the youngest participants.

Over four weekends, 14 children from the Saanenland learned to sail Optimists on the Arnensee under the guidance of volunteer coaches Sophie and Virginie Lienhart. Two virtual-reality sessions at the GYC clubhouse provided the introduction before training moved onto the lake. The children learned everything from rigging and launching their boats to tying knots, reading the wind, trimming sails, tacking, gybing and dealing with a capsize. By the final weekend, they were rigging their boats independently and sailing confidently even in gusty conditions.

The programme is part of the club’s efforts to make sailing accessible to local children without requiring formal club membership – and perhaps to ensure that, even in the mountains, the next generation knows exactly what to do when there is a boat and a stretch of water nearby.

GYC