Segelverein Saalburg e.V.
Segelverein Saalburg e.V. is a sailing club based at the club grounds on Wetteraweg in Saalburg-Ebersdorf and sails on the Bleiloch reservoir in Thuringia, Germany’s largest reservoir with 9.2 km² of water and many bays. The club has jetties and a harbour area; members sail among other craft cruisers, dinghies, 420s and Optimists, and the club hosts three of about ten regattas held on the lake each year. Children and juniors are trained in-house on Optimists and 420s toward the junior sailing certificate; training is free for club children and trial sessions are possible. The programme includes the Whitsun trophy, Blue Ribbon of the Cruisers, long-distance race and autumn trophy as well as in-club squadron sails and social club life on site. Many members also compete in statewide regattas; the age structure ranges from children and juniors through adults to seniors.
History
Segelverein Saalburg e.V. is based on the Bleiloch reservoir in Thuringia and has continuously admitted new members since its founding, creating a mixed age structure of children, juniors, adults and seniors. The club grounds are on Wetteraweg in Saalburg-Ebersdorf; on the roughly 9.2 km² Bleiloch reservoir with good wind and many bays, about ten regattas take place each year, three of them hosted by the club. Youth work includes in-house training on Optimists and 420s up to the junior sailing certificate and an Opti simulator tested and used for coaching from 2020; capsize drills and Optimist training are documented. In 2020 members took part in the Thuringian state championships on the Bleiloch reservoir and experienced the lights festival at Saalburg Beach from the water. In 2021 strongly fluctuating water levels shaped the area – low spring levels were followed by flooding – and thanks to REWE’s “Scheine für Vereine” campaign the club received new kitchen appliances; the long-distance race also returned that year. Regular highlights are the Whitsun trophy or Whitsun regatta, Blue Ribbon of the Cruisers, Saaldorf–Saalburg long-distance race and autumn trophy; members also join events of neighbouring club Turbine Bleiloch, including a J/70 match race. The club also fosters cruising with an annual Thuringian cruising competition and in-club squadron sails for cruiser sailors. Today Segelverein Saalburg is an active club with a mixed membership, free junior training for club children and a dense regatta and club life on Germany’s largest reservoir.
Information
Youth section
Active junior training with junior sailing certificate on club Optimists and 420s; free for club children, trial sessions possible, no joining fee.