The members of the Tegel Sailing Club (TSC) are celebrating 125 years of history this year. The German Sailing Association (DSV) is marking the anniversary with a profile on its website. You can also read it below here on YACHT online, courtesy of the DSV:
The main thing is sailing!
The Tegeler Segel-Club, based in the north of Berlin, has been operating under this motto since 1901. And even today, the community – comprising recreational and competitive sailors, children, young people and adults – is united in its belief that everything else can be sorted out. The German Sailing Association congratulates the club on this special anniversary and wishes it all the best for the future.
How it all began…
An official decree, a lively get-together and a fundraising campaign
The club’s history began with an official decree. In 1901, it was decided that all pleasure craft were to be registered and fitted with a registration plate – with the exception of club boats. So seven owners, whose sailing yachts were moored in the bay in front of the ‘Seeschlösschen’ and at the mouth of the Tegeler Fließ, decided during a lively get-together: ‘Let’s set up a club.’ No sooner said than done: the ‘Tegeler Segel Club’ (TSC) was founded on 10 March 1901.
By 1910, the TSC – the district’s oldest club – already had a sizeable fleet moored at the northern end of Lake Tegel, known as the Malche. Membership numbers were rising so rapidly that the club had to move premises with increasing frequency. Even back then, the motto was: ‘Everything can be sorted out – the main thing is sailing.’ The club members raised money for a clubhouse, and the foundation stone was laid in 1920. The building on Schwarzen Weg remains the home of the TSC sailors to this day.
… and what happened next
A bond and a very special friendship
When the NSDAP seized power in 1933, the Tegel Sailing Club was also brought into line. However, the TSC members not only managed to oust a nationalist chairman, but also to thwart the election of the political liaison officer on several occasions.
The Second World War did not leave the sailing club unscathed. Fellow sailors died on the battlefield, and camp beds were set up in the clubhouse hall for people who had lost their homes in the bombing raids. After the war ended, the Allies confiscated the boats, but one of the TSC members had a clever idea, explains TSC treasurer Kai Jürgens: “He sank a K-dinghy in the reeds, thereby saving it from being seized.”
Despite all the adversity, the club members soon gathered once more at the clubhouse, which had survived the war almost unscathed. As clubs were initially banned, a solution to this problem was found – and not just at the Tegeler Segel-Club: sailing was simply organised as a local sport.
The threatened seizure of the club grounds by the French occupying forces did not take place. The French chose Villa Borsig as their headquarters and moved into the neighbouring property by the lake. It was not long before the soldiers, who were keen sailors, persuaded their commander to start sailing activities there as well.
That marked the beginning of a wonderful Franco-German friendship which weathered the turmoil of the post-war period and, later, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and which has lost none of its charm to this day.
“We have close ties with the Club Nautique Français de Tegel e.V. today,” says Kai Jürgens. “The gate between the two plots is always open.”
There is a sign on the door with a clear message: ‘Do not close.’
The Tegel Sailing Club today
Competitive sailing, a packed regatta calendar…
Competitive sailing has always been part of the club’s DNA: club regattas, open regattas, as well as dates for hosting national and international championships feature on the Tegeler Segel-Club’s calendar. In 2026, for example, the German H-boat Championships will be held at the TSC – “a class in which our members have already won German championship titles”, says Kai Jürgens. The Berliners from Lake Tegel are also more than successful on the international stage. To name just two examples among many: Erik Kosegarten-Heil, a double 49er bronze medallist at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, partnering Thomas Plößel, and helmsman of the Germany SailGP team since 2023, learnt the basics of sailing at the TSC in Malcher Bay. And Felix Krabbe, a five-time German H-boat champion and 2004 Olympian, also hails from the TSC.
The regatta calendar for the people of Tegel is extensive and offers something for everyone: there’s, for example, the Malche Prize, the Koffer Cup, the Kurt Weck Memorial Prize, the 18-hour LAKEitEASY regatta, and the traditional Tegel Juniors’ Festival, which sometimes sees nearly 80 Optimist sailors from all of Berlin’s sailing areas out on the water.
And what if you don’t want to take part in a regatta? Then don’t. “The main thing is sailing, in whatever form, that’s what matters most to us,” explains treasurer Jürgens. The club’s cruising crews often head for Denmark, but also travel all over Europe, and if anyone is looking for fellow sailors, a crew is quickly put together for further trips too.
Active youth development
The members of the Tegel Sailing Club all agree that the foundation for a passion for sailing, for sporting success and, at the same time, for the club’s continued existence lies in its work with young people. That is why, over the years, the club has built up one of the most active children’s and youth sections in the Berlin area.
‘Active’ in this context means: on almost every weekday, there are well-structured lessons and training sessions for the youngest children and teenagers, in the club’s own Optimists, 29ers and Pirates, and – for the past two years – also on a J/70 financed by donations, summer and winter camps, as well as taster sailing sessions during the holidays. Kai Jürgens smiles proudly: “Most of the time, our club’s young members supervise and coach around 30 children in a week. On top of school, university and work.”
For the club’s members, however, ‘active’ also means something else: it must always be possible for any child or young person who wants to try sailing to actually get out on the water. Financial considerations, the distance to the lake – none of that should matter. “If someone doesn’t have time for a taster sailing session, we tell them: ‘Get in touch, we’ll find a solution’,” says Kai Jürgens.
And when parents drop their children off or pick them up, everyone strikes up a conversation – “and before you know it, a new member joins”.
For the members of the TSC, inclusion is “not really an issue, as it goes without saying”. Barrier-free access to the water and the clubhouse is provided. A fleet of five 2.4mR boats is currently sailed by non-disabled members, but offers all sailing enthusiasts the chance to get out on the water. The main thing is sailing!
A decline in membership? Not really the main topic of conversation at the Tegel Sailing Club. “We’re noticing that more and more young people are becoming involved with the club and taking on responsibility,” says the treasurer. “A new generation of TSC members is coming through.”
A declaration of love
A great area and a relaxed atmosphere
“We’re in a lovely spot here on the Malche, and the view across the lake from the terrace is absolutely stunning,” says Kai Jürgens, quickly getting carried away. Just sitting there, enjoying the food and drink, having a natter, swapping news and sailing tips, before or after a sail – what more could sailors want!
This is the Tegel Sailing Club
The TSC is situated in the northernmost of Berlin’s six sailing areas on Lake Tegel, a 408-hectare extension of the River Havel featuring numerous islands. The club’s own site is located on the Malche, a bay of the lake. The club has 300 members, 100 of whom are children and young people. Three of the club’s own boats are available for sailing instruction and training. There is a jetty with 60 berths, two boat ramps, a slewing jib, a boathouse and the historic clubhouse. Address: Schwarzer Weg 27, 13505 Berlin; Email: info@tegeler-segel-club.de; Website: www.tegeler-segel-club.de