Klub Żeglarski Halny
Klub Żeglarski Halny is the largest sailing club in southern Poland and the oldest still active sailing club in the Podbeskidzie region. Based in Bielsko-Biała, it operates the largest marina on Lake Żywieckie in Zarzecze with a pier over 100 metres long for nearly 100 yachts. Members and guests use Omega dinghies, two-masted boats, cabin yachts and a broad training fleet; hangar, training hall, harbour office and sanitary facilities complete the infrastructure. Focus areas are youth development, PZŻ-licensed courses for Żeglarz and Sternik Jachtowy, and annual regattas of national importance. Since its founding in 1967 as a PTTK section and legal independence in 1994, the club has shaped sailing in the Beskids and also organises sea and cruising voyages.
History
Klub Żeglarski Halny was founded in 1967 by a small group of enthusiastic sailors as a PTTK section and was the first publicly accessible sailing club of its kind in Podbeskidzie. After the Tresna reservoir was flooded, the founders chose a bay on the western shore of the new Lake Żywieckie in Zarzecze for the marina. Beginnings were modest: a single Omega and an old shed. Over time the club grew quickly. In 1994 Halny gained legal personality, left PTTK and became an independent, self-financing club. On 12 May 2022 it celebrated its 55th anniversary and is now the oldest still active sailing club in Podbeskidzie. Today it has over 170 members, runs the largest marina in southern Poland on Lake Żywieckie and belongs to the licensed sailing schools of the Polish Yachting Association PZŻ. About 150 people are trained each year; the club organises regattas of national importance, sea voyages and, together with the Centrum Wychowania Morskiego ZHP in Gdynia, trips on the historic tall ship Zawisza Czarny.
Information
Facilities
Own marina in Zarzecze on Lake Żywieckie with a floating, lit pier over 100 metres long including 230 V power and drinking water, hangar with boatbuilding equipment and training hall, harbour office and bosun building with kitchen, sanitary building with showers, rail slipway, viewing terrace, grill/fire place, fenced and CCTV-monitored grounds plus additional recreation area on the Wyspa.
Activities
PZŻ-licensed sailing courses (weekend, two-week, Masuria), youth development, equipment rental, club meetings, sea and cruising voyages (Baltic, North Sea, Mediterranean), regattas (Pogoń za lisem, Memoriał Adama Banaszka with Polish Cup Optimist and Omega, Babiego Lata, przesiadkowe) and joint trips on Zawisza Czarny.
Youth section
Youth development and training of new sailors are a statutory focus; courses from age 14, reduced fees for pupils/students up to 25.
Guest berths
Yes, marina usable by guests
Boating license training
Available: 1
Piotr Gołąb
Marcin Bizoń
Weekend or 2 weeks (also 1 week Masuria)