She was in her early 20s when, during a trip to Corsica, she decided to buy her own boat. But it had to be a wooden one. It was a centreboard dinghy, built in 1966, and Sylvie Schneider has been sailing the boat in regattas in a wide variety of waters ever since, from southern Germany to Kiel and Brittany. The addition of a dinghy cruiser in Lindau on Lake Constance in 2000 has not changed this to this day. But since then she has been able to really enjoy cruising. Even though, says Schneider, Lake Constance is also the stage for hot regatta battles among classic crews.
The Wasserburg native has been in charge of the southern network for the Freundeskreis Klassische Yachten for many years and is therefore the contact person for the members and organiser of two winter meetings - one on the Upper Bavarian lakes and one on Lake Constance. Hardly anyone knows the peculiarities of the local scene as well as she does
YACHT: What characterises the classic car scene on Lake Constance?
Sylvie Schneider:There is a lot of wood here. So much wood that even class regattas can take place. The individual classes are very self-contained, there is a great sense of class.
You think the different classics don't come together at all?
Yes, there is the International Lake Constance Week, for example, which is sailed according to yardstick or class classification depending on the number of entries. Then there is the Lake Constance Traditionswoche organised by the Oldtimerschiffer Bodensee association. This usually brings together 30 to 40 classic cars. It always takes place in the first week of the summer holidays in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, but only in odd-numbered years. In the even-numbered years, the four-day Classic Weekend organised by the Circle of Friends takes place on the same date.
And which boat classes are particularly active here with their own regattas?
For example, the 30s and 40s skerries, the 45s and 75s national cruisers, Lacustre, Dragon, the 6mR and 8mR yachts ...
... That sounds like a lot of regattas!
There is both relaxed pleasure sailing and ambitious racing. And ambition reigns supreme. The clubs' Wednesday regattas are used as training by the classic crews.
Between the modern boats ...
Yes, the clubs at the various locations have joined forces and organise the Wednesday regattas in turn. So if you want to practise crew procedures, use the Wednesday regattas.
How much ambition is reflected in the boats and equipment?
It's very different. The boat builders and sailmakers in the south try very hard to perfect everything. What the class rules allow is utilised. The quest for perfection leads to lively discussions, and the responsible technical officers in the class associations invest a lot of time to do everyone the best possible justice.
Are there any rules to be observed at the interdisciplinary classic meetings?
Depending on the event, a distinction is made between the authorised ships. For the Lake Constance Traditionswoche, the year of construction may not be later than 1940. However, replicas of old ships and ships that are at least 30 years old are also permitted if they were built according to cracks that were created before this year.
Is participation in the Classic Weekend Bodensee linked to a specific year of construction?
With us, participation is only tied to the conditions of classic crack and traditional boat building method. This means that a 45 National that was built in 2020 or 1920 can also take part. However, the overlap between the participants in these two events is around 80 to 90 per cent. It's like one big family. And there are always new ones joining.
From where?
Many from other areas use these meetings because they have always wanted to sail on Lake Constance and these events offer them the appropriate framework and support to get to grips with the special features of the area. One of our participants at the Classic Weekend Bodensee once called it "supervised sailing".
Is there also the reverse effect?
Yes, I even know many owners who don't just have one boat, but a yacht and a dinghy. They have their Vertens cruiser or their 35 Nationals on a permanent berth, and they take their dinghy or dinghy to regattas on Lake Attersee, the Bavarian lakes or even to Classic Week on the Baltic Sea. I'm one of them too, I've already been to the Classic Rendezvous with my Zugvogel.
What other special features do you notice about the scene by the lake?
The boats are real family members. We have many classics that have been in the same hands for two, three or even four generations because the families are so rooted here. There are families who have their boat on Lake Constance, even though they now live somewhere else. But in their free time, they come from far away, some even regularly, to sail. And so some of the boats have been moored here on Lake Constance for decades. But it is also a very good environment for classic boats and yachts and their owners.
What do you mean by that?
Above all, the density of wood specialists who practise their profession by vocation. Boat builders who are also happy to pass on their knowledge to the owners. Who don't immediately say: "Give me that, I'll do it for you - for money!" when an owner who does a lot themselves comes with a question. Instead, they are willing to show you how it's done and support you because they know that if it gets too difficult, they will call in a specialist. They simply have so much love for this craft with wood that their eyes light up when they talk about wood and boats.
