The Gstaad Yacht Club opened 2026 with a commitment to passing on values, knowledge and excellence across generations, linking education and youth sport with cultural heritage and international dialogue. This focus was evident in a talk by Swiss ski legend Dominique Perret. Perret drew on nearly three decades of extreme skiing, emphasising values, education and conscious decision-making rather than records. He outlined nine core values that have shaped his career and entrepreneurial path, including intuition, creativity, courage, passion and joy.

Mountain safety was central to his remarks, supported by striking figures: more than seven million people worldwide now engage in off-piste and freeride skiing, while around 100 people die each year in avalanche accidents in the Alps. Stressing that most incidents are preventable, Perret distinguished between rescue equipment and true safety, which he defined as knowledge, experience and education. He introduced WeMountain, the international education platform he founded, to professionalise mountain education through structured training, digital learning, and certified skills development, in cooperation with mountain guides and ski schools. His key message: education is the foundation of freedom, and responsibility is the basis of safety.

The same values of teamwork and excellence were evident in the Club’s youth sailing programme. At the Monaco Optimist Team Race, one of the most demanding international competitions in youth team sailing, the Gstaad Yacht Club team achieved an outstanding third-place finish. Competing against teams from eleven nations, Lou Eisenhut, Dimitri Wälchli, Tim Bailes and Adrian Kohler delivered a strong, consistent performance. After 81 races sailed in challenging conditions, the team secured ten wins from eleven races, finishing on the podium behind Italy and Denmark. Coached by Hene Keller, the young sailors demonstrated cohesion, discipline and resilience, confirming the strength of the Club’s youth development programme and gaining valuable international experience early in the season.

A cultural highlight was an evening at the Gstaad Yacht Club, welcoming members and guests from leading European yacht clubs to a presentation by William Collier, a leading historian of classic yachts and maritime archives. Collier outlined the mission of the Scottish Yachting Archives Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to rescuing, preserving and making accessible Scotland’s yachting heritage. He emphasised that preserving historic yachts alone is insufficient; drawings, photographs, correspondence and technical records are equally vital to understanding their conception, construction and legacy.
Today, the Foundation safeguards approximately 50,000 drawings, more than 50,000 historic photographs, and over 155 metres of archival material, including the collections of G.L. Watson & Company, the William Fife shipyards, and Silver’s Yard. A major announcement was the imminent acquisition of the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club Collection, founded in 1824 and regarded as one of the most significant yachting archives worldwide. GYC Sailing Officer Daniel Heine described this work as “essential for the future of yachting,” praising Collier’s dedication to preserving the sport’s cultural foundations.

The cultural programme continues with further speakers, including a Gstaad Cultural Encounter on 16 February featuring Simon de Pury, internationally renowned as an auctioneer, curator and cultural voice.
As part of its international profile, the Gstaad Yacht Club was once again recognised by the Club Leaders Forum as a Platinum Yacht Club of the World for the 2026–2027 period, following an evaluation of more than 1,250 private clubs worldwide.

With cultural programming, educational initiatives and international sporting success, the Gstaad Yacht Club sets clear early-year impulses for the season ahead – combining heritage, responsibility and excellence.

GYC