Yachtclub Illmitz
Yachtclub Illmitz (YCI) is a sailing club on Lake Neusiedl whose grounds lie within Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park, north of the Illmitz lakeside lido. Founded in February 1972, the club offers a harbour with 40 wet berths, several dry berths, a well-kept clubhouse, sanitary facilities and an outbuilding. Around 40 active members and youth sailors use the venue; club regattas, an annual youth week and sociable weekends shape the programme. Sailors from the youth group have reached Austria's junior and national squads, and the club's bluewater sailors have competed in the Mediterranean and gained experience on Atlantic crossings.
History
Yachtclub Illmitz was founded in February 1972 and held its first general assembly in March of the same year. In pioneering work, a small group of sailors cleared a harbour basin in the reed belt north of what was then a small Illmitz lakeside lido. From that small club grew a yacht club with today's required infrastructure. The grounds are reachable by land within Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park; since November 2001 Lake Neusiedl has been a World Heritage site. As the last major investment, in October and November 2001 the harbour basin was dredged to secure an adequate water depth. Sportingly, YCI points to successes of its youth group, with sailors admitted to regional, Austrian junior and national squads, and achievements at major international events. Bluewater sailors from the club succeeded in Mediterranean regattas and gained experience in the Baltic and North Seas and on Atlantic crossings. At the 2019 Shark 24 World Championship a YCI team led by Harald Hynie won the world title, and another team around Bernhard Hynie finished third.
Information
Facilities
Harbour with 40 wet berths, dry berths, clubhouse, sanitary facilities, outbuilding, optional shore power at berth
Activities
Club regattas (season opening, end-of-school regatta, Star regatta, cruiser cup, season closing), youth week, bluewater and cruising sailing, sociable weekend programme
Youth section
Youth group and annual youth week; sailors from the youth section have joined regional, junior and national squads.