Seglervereinigung Rhein-Main e.V.
Seglervereinigung Rhein-Main e.V. (SVRM) is a non-profit sailing and training club based in Frankfurt am Main, with practical training on the River Main. Since late 1976 the association has trained powerboat operators and sailors in theory and practice and uses its own motor barge Gaby as a training vessel. The programme covers coastal and inland sport boat licences, radio certificates and advanced tickets such as SKS and SSS, complemented by dinghy courses in the Netherlands and sailing trips on the Baltic and Mediterranean. Courses and cruises are open to non-members; members receive a 20 percent discount on course fees after one year of membership. In 2026 SVRM celebrates its 50th anniversary and is a member of the German Sailing Association and the Hessen State Sports Federation.
History
Seglervereinigung Rhein-Main e.V. was founded at the end of 1976 and entered in the Frankfurt am Main register of associations in spring 1977. Since then the club has trained more than 8,000 powerboat operators and sailors in theory and practice. Teaching sound seamanship and the knowledge needed to safely skipper a sailing or motor yacht is the club’s primary goal. In 1976 the association also took over the former Hamburg harbour barge Gaby, built in 1920, as a training vessel on the Main. Gaby previously carried workers for the Hamburg harbour authority and, after sale to A. Ritscher in 1975, has been used by SVRM for practical motorboat training since 1976. Thousands of candidates learned berthing, turning in confined waters and compass steering on board. The barge also featured at public events in Frankfurt, including Museum Embankment Festival openings by then mayor Petra Roth and dragon boat races; in 2011 Hessischer Rundfunk reported on the vessel. Since 2006 SVRM has offered an annual intensive dinghy course in Friesland. Theory courses run in autumn and winter, with practical training for official licences in parallel on Gaby; dinghy and yacht practice follow in summer in the Netherlands and the western Baltic. In 2026 the club celebrates its 50th anniversary. SVRM is a non-profit organisation, a member of the German Sailing Association and the Hessen State Sports Federation, and currently has around 80 members.
Information
Boating license training
Available: 1
Weekend course 4 days of 5 hours each or evening course 6 evenings of 3 hours each, practical training 4 double lessons on Gaby