Segelclub Wolfsberg
Segelclub Wolfsberg in the Schwarzautal is a Styrian sailing club based in Gratwein-Straßengel that focuses, under the motto “The other way of sailing”, primarily on shared charter and cruising trips in the Mediterranean. Instead of a classic home waters programme, the club organises annual Family, Club, Friends and Business sailing trips, documents routes and nautical miles, and reports in detail on cruising grounds, marinas and culinary highlights. Members sail on chartered yachts and also cultivate club life with Christmas gatherings, outings and internal club newsletter articles. Since its founding in 2011, the club has grown into an active community that travels to Croatia, Italy and Greece and shares its experiences publicly on the club website.
History
The idea for Segelclub Wolfsberg grew from a private sailing initiative: as early as 2009, barely a year after Johann and fellow sailors passed their sailing licence exam, the first joint trip to Croatia took place. On 30 March 2011 the association was officially founded (register authority BH Leibnitz, ZVR number 144468606); according to the club website the board was formed on 31 March 2011. Founding members included Andreas Dier as chairman, Johann Kaufmann as deputy chairman, Mario Senekowitsch as secretary, Gerhard Marbler as deputy secretary, Ing. Gernot Schutte as treasurer and Herbert Waltl as deputy treasurer. In 2017 Manfred Grosschädl joined as cellar master. In the first ten years (2011–2021) the club organised 26 trips and covered more than 3,550 nautical miles according to its own figures. The focus remained the Mediterranean: recurring voyages to Dalmatia, Istria, the Kvarner Bay, the Kornati Islands, Lastovo and Dubrovnik, plus trips to Italy (Amalfi/Naples region 2019, Sicily 2024, Sardinia/Costa Smeralda 2026) and Greece (Ionian Islands 2018). In 2020 the joint club trip was cancelled; only a family sailing trip was possible. Later the club documented “more than 50 sailing trips” and keeps crew mile logs (as of 18 June 2026 a total of 28,994 nautical miles or 53,697 kilometres). Alongside sailing, the club maintains land-based events such as Christmas parties at Landhaus Kainz, hiking days (e.g. Schladming 2020), draisine rides and wine outings, as well as a new clubhouse mentioned from 2022 as a meeting place for board sessions.