Segel-Verein Altona-Oevelgönne e.V.
Segel-Verein Altona-Oevelgönne e.V. (SVAOe) is one of Hamburg’s largest sailing clubs, with its clubhouse in Hamburg-Neumühlen on the Elbe. Members use berths on the Elbe at Hamburg Yacht Harbour in Wedel, at the dinghy harbour Mühlenberg, on the Alster, and in the buoy field of the Baltic Sea base in Eckernförde. The club provides club boats for training and racing, including Optimists, 420s, Pirate, youth cruising cutters, and J/24 and J/70 for juniors. Children, youths and adults receive practical sailing training on the Alster and Elbe; in the winter half-year, boat licence courses and further training take place in the clubhouse. Regular regattas such as Opti Cup, Optimale, Elbe season finale and Christmas tree regatta shape the sporting programme. Founded in 1905, as of 1 January 2026 the SVAOe has 757 members and combines cruising with racing sailing.
History
On 5 April 1905, eleven young sailing enthusiasts, none older than 24, met at the inn “Zur Erholung” on the Oevelgönne Elbe shore to found a new sailing club. Wilhelm Burmester was elected first chairman and later became a legendary sailor and navigation teacher. At Whitsun 1905 the SVAOe held its first club race: three Elbe dinghies sailed to Cuxhaven and back. On 29 December of the same year the club was entered in the register of the Royal Prussian District Court in Altona. By the end of the first season it had 48 members; four years later there were 170 with a fleet of 50 boats. In 1910 Wilhelm Burmester realised the then revolutionary idea of a night race from Hamburg to Cuxhaven and launched the legendary Kiel–Korsør race, sailed until the Second World War. In its 25th anniversary year the SVAOe organised 17 races, including the Hindenburg race as a feeder to Kiel Week’s North Sea Week. In 1934 the Model Sailing Race Club of 1888 was merged into the SVAOe; model sailing has remained an important activity since. At the 50th anniversary in 1955 the club had over 400 members. By the end of 1975 it counted around 840 members and 500 boats. Jürgen Chr. Schaper shaped the club for 26 years as chairman and was instrumental in creating the clubhouse commissioned in 2000; he was named commodore in 1989 and died on 7 November 2019. In April 2023 the name changed from Segler-Vereinigung Altona-Oevelgönne to Segel-Verein Altona-Oevelgönne e.V. under a revised constitution. Today the SVAOe is one of the largest sailing clubs in Hamburg and Germany; the full chronicle appears in the anniversary book “Ein Jahrhundert am Wind”.
Information
Facilities
Clubhouse in Hamburg-Neumühlen with library, berths at Alsterufer, dinghy harbour Mühlenberg, Hamburg Yacht Harbour Wedel and Baltic Sea base Eckernförde
Activities
Racing, cruising, youth and junior training, boat licence and radio courses, winter academy, club evenings and social events
Youth section
Active youth section with Opti, 420 and cutter training plus regattas and tours on Alster, Elbe and Baltic Sea
Boating license training
Available: 1
Winter half-year November to April