Yacht Club Horgen
Yacht Club Horgen (YCH) is a sailing club founded in 1968 on Lake Zurich in Horgen, with around 200 members and a spacious historic clubhouse on Hirsackerstrasse. The grounds include a pier for up to 12 yachts, dry storage, a slipway, a garden with swimming access, and club dinghies of the Optimist, 420 and Laser classes for junior training. Families, couples, individual and junior members enjoy a varied programme with Friday gatherings, regattas, spring and autumn season events, boat sharing and race training on Onyx as well as participation in the Swiss Sailing League and ONYX Compass Cup. A distinctive feature is the clubhouse converted from a former cement works with its landmark chimneys, Bilgenbar and one of the region's largest nautical libraries.
History
Yacht Club Horgen was founded on 17 December 1968 in the «Gehren» hall. Initiator and honorary member Alex Kuhn formed a founding committee with Mani Wolf, Ruedi Schwarz, Alfred Bärtschi and Ferdi Willi. More than 30 people signed as founding members; by the end of 1968 the club had 43 active members and one passive member. In 1969 a club room in Villa Seerose was inaugurated, followed in 1971 by extended club rooms and a pier. As early as 1969 the club laid five Optimists under Hans Lackner, christened in 1971. After renovation plans for Seerose threatened club life, YCH acquired the former cement works («Zementi») at Hirsacker in 1980; the extraordinary general meeting of 17 November 1980 approved the purchase with 36 yes votes. On 27 June 1981 the club celebrated taking possession. A second building phase followed in 1989; in 1991 the municipality listed the building, and the landmark chimneys were retained. From 1996 to 1999 a full renovation took place with about 6,000 hours of member volunteer work. The Bilgenbar was inaugurated in spring 2008, and the chimneys were refurbished again in 2017 for the 50th anniversary. Today YCH is one of the larger clubs on Lake Zurich with around 200 members, affiliated to Swiss Sailing and the Lake Zurich Sailing Association.
Information
Facilities
Historic clubhouse with kitchen, lounge, Bilgenbar, changing rooms, showers, workshop, crane, nautical library, garden with swimming ladders, barbecue, pier for 12 yachts, dry storage, slipway, club dinghies, motorboats, winter storage and stand-up paddles
Activities
Junior and adult sailing, regattas (May Regatta, ABC Cup, Cruiser Cup, club championship), spring and autumn season events, Friday gatherings, Lake Zurich trips, offshore cruises, boat sharing, Swiss Sailing League, ONYX Compass Cup, nautical education and club trips
Youth section
Active youth section with training in Optimist, Laser and 420 following Swiss Sailing and Youth+Sport; led by Viviane Mouron with an experienced coaching team
Parking
Yes, 10 parking spaces at the clubhouse