With the first rays of sunshine, the anticipation of the beginning of the sailing season increases and preparations begin, which inland also include information about the current water levels. This can tell you whether there will still be enough water to sail on the lake in question in summer. We asked around for you and found out a lot of other news that is important for sailing on the most important German inland waterways.
Outer Alster
- water surface: 1.6 km²
- Water content: 3.4 million m³
- Lowest point: 4,54 m
- Federal state: Hamburg
The Outer Alster is located in the centre of Hamburg and is a popular recreational area for after work or whole weekends. It is a real micro-area for sailors. There are many opportunities to get out on the water here. These include boat hire companies, sailing schools and clubs. The North German Regatta Association (NRV) is based on the Alster. It was founded in 1868 and is one of the largest sailing clubs in Germany with around 2,200 members. The "NRV Olympic Team" has already brought many medals to the Hanseatic city.
Another club that is at home on the Alster is the Hamburger Segel-Club (HSC). Like the other Alster clubs, it is facing decisive changes: Since the beginning of November, the "Regulation for the introduction of emission-free Alster shipping" has been in force in Hamburg. Daniel Hosse, treasurer of the HSC, reports on the challenges: "We are very excited to see whether the battery-powered boats will really be able to cope with our everyday regatta and other tasks." However, there is a transitional period for motorboats, which are mainly used by the HSC as support and safety boats.
Wannsee
- water surface: 2.82 km²
- Water content: 15,416 m³
- Lowest point: 9,79 m
- Federal state: Berlin
Wannsee is located in the south-west of Berlin and is undoubtedly one of Germany's most famous inland waterways. Its location makes it one of the capital's favourite excursion destinations. On the Wannsee, you can sail past old villas against a romantic backdrop. For example, the historic house where the Wannsee Conference, a sad low point in history, took place. The sailing infrastructure around the Wannsee is extensive, and it is also home to the Seglerhaus am Wannsee association, which claims to be the second oldest sailing club in Germany.
Also interesting:
Lake Constance
- water surface: 536 km²
- Water content: 50 million m³
- Lowest point: 254 m
- federal states: Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria
The majority of Lake Constance is located on the German side in Baden-Württemberg. The part in Bavaria is significantly smaller. The "Swabian Sea" is 80 metres deep on average, with the deepest point being between Fischbach and Uttwil. The lake consists of two parts, the Upper and Lower Lakes, which are connected by the Seerhein. There are several well-known sailing clubs in the area, such as the four national sailing league clubs Bodensee-Yacht-Club Überlingen, Konstanzer Yacht Club, Segel- und Motorboot Club Überlingen and Württembergischer Yacht-Club.
The Überlingen Sailing Club (SGÜ), on the other hand, is a smaller club focussed on families and popular sports. Jürgen Eulenpesch from SGÜ reports on the notorious lack of berths on the lake: "It's a big issue, they are inherited or - as here in the municipal harbour of Überlingen - allocated according to a points system." There have also been problems with the water level in recent years. "I can't yet say what it will be like this season; the water level here can't be controlled by a dam or anything like that," says Eulenpesch.
Chiemsee
- water surface: 79.9 km²
- Water content: 2.048 km³
- Lowest point: 73 m
- Federal state: Bavaria
There are three islands in Lake Chiemsee: Herreninsel is the largest and is also home to the New Herrenchiemsee Palace, which King Ludwig II had built from 1878. The Fraueninsel with the historic Benedictine monastery is the second largest, the uninhabited Krautinsel the smallest. The "Bavarian Sea" is located just under 90 kilometres from Munich and just under 60 kilometres from Salzburg. On Lake Chiemsee, the German Offshore Sports Association Hansa (DHH) runs a yacht school in Prien, which is managed by Michael Wimmer. He explains in conversation that the water level changes quickly: "When the snow melts in spring, especially when it rains, it can quickly happen that our jetties are under water in April, May or June."
According to Wimmer, they have fewer problems with the lack of water at Lake Chiemsee than in other places. He puts this down to the mountains, which trigger so-called accumulation weather conditions so that the clouds hang around for longer and it sometimes rains for several days in summer. Wimmer reports: "Our bookings are at a consistently high level, but there is still residual capacity in summer." They also have many bookings from entire families, where parents and children attend separate courses and meet up for meals and after sailing lessons. The DHH yacht school also offers accommodation so that families can enjoy an "all-round carefree sailing holiday". According to Wimmer, they also have many school classes visiting them. He reports that some of these bookings have been made for years.
Lake Starnberg
- water surface: 56.36 km²
- Water content: 2.998 km³
- Lowest point: 127,8 m
- Federal state: Bavaria
The geographical location of Lake Starnberg attracts many residents and tourists from Munich, just 40 kilometres away, to its shores and the water. Due to the average depth of 57 metres and the large surface area of Lake Starnberg, it is the second most water-rich lake in Germany after Lake Constance. There are various sailing clubs on Lake Starnberg, such as the Bavarian Yacht Club (BYC). The water level, reports Fabian Duttler, Club Manager of the BYC, looks very good at the moment. "That definitely helps us with the seaweed problem," he says. The large amount of water is useful, as the seagrass needs to photosynthesise in order to grow, and the more water there is, the less daylight reaches the seagrass.
Duttler describes: "The anticipation here at the BYC is huge. We are organising two more regattas this year than last year, bringing the total to 21 events." The sporting highlights, he explains, are in particular the German Dragon Championship, Act 3 of the German Junior Sailing League, the Waszp German Open and the final event of the German Sailing League. The first highlight will be the traditional start of sailing.
Lake Dümmer
- water surface: 12 km²
- Water content: 14 million m³
- Lowest point: 1,4 m
- Federal state: Lower Saxony
With its average water depth of 1.20 metres, Lake Dümmer is known far beyond the borders of Lower Saxony. There is space for over 2,000 sailing boats in 18 different harbours. Lake Dümmer is dammed up every year on 15 March. As sailing is not permitted on the Dümmer from the beginning of November to the end of March, this is usually always sufficient for sailors on the lake. For Alexander Friese from the Godewind yacht school, the omens for this sailing season look good. "After two months of high water flooding our jetties, we started the season at an extremely high level," he reports. However, because of the flooding, they were only able to start preparing for the new season very late, says Friese. Nevertheless, they are well prepared.
Müritz
- water surface: 112.6 km²
- Water content: 0.74 km³
- Lowest point: 31 m
- Federal state: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
The Müritz is the largest inland lake in Germany in terms of surface area. It is part of the Mecklenburg Lake District, also known as the "Land of a Thousand Lakes". This largest contiguous lake landscape in Central Europe is characterised above all by the many wooded areas along the water and the natural landscape. There are various sailing offers on the Müritz, one of which is run by Thomas Philipp. He is the owner of the charter company "Sun Sailing Müritz" and reports high water levels that are the "best in years". They also did a lot of work in the harbour during the winter and renovated it extensively. "We also have four new Scandinavia yachts in charter," says Philipp. However, the booking behaviour of his customers has been rather restrained so far. However, he is optimistic and expects to receive a few more bookings at short notice.
Scharmützelsee
- water surface: 12.1 km²
- Water content: 0.108 km³
- Lowest point: 29 m
- Federal state: Brandenburg
Lake Scharmützelsee is located around 60 kilometres south-east of Berlin. There are two small, uninhabited islands on the "Märkisches Meer". They create a striking picture. There are several different jetties along the shore. The Wendisch Rietz marina is run by Karina Ring. She describes how her three jetties are fully booked again this year and that people on her waiting list are only moving forward very slowly. "That's because hardly anyone moves away from an existing berth and goes somewhere else," explains Ring.
Lake Möhne
- water surface: 10.4 km²
- Water content: 134.5 million m³
- Lowest point: 36 m
- Federal state: North Rhine-Westphalia
Lake Möhne is also known as the "Westphalian Sea". Just under 40 kilometres from Freienohl, the birthplace of the Dehler shipyard, many Dehler boats can still be found on the water today. It is therefore no coincidence that many ambitious Varianta sailors are based here. But there is also plenty else to discover on the water. The Wameler Vorbecken forms the easternmost part of the dam. This is followed by three basins separated only by bridges. The water of the lake is dammed up by the 650 metre wide and 40 metre high dam wall in Möhnesee-Günne, which, like many others in the region, is also managed by the Ruhrverband.
"Unfortunately, the season will probably be a little shorter than usual for sailors on the Wamel reservoir," emphasises Ludger Harder, the operations manager of Talsperrenbetrieb Nord, which is also responsible for the Möhne dam. The reason for this is construction work on the banks, which requires the water level to be lowered by around 1.5 metres. "Otherwise the water will run into the construction group, which is rather unfavourable," says Harder.
Lake Sorpe
- water surface: 3.38 km²
- Water content: 70.37 million m³
- Lowest point: 57 m
- Federal state: North Rhine-Westphalia
The Sorpe dam is the fifth largest in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located south-west of Arnsberg, it has been damming the water of the Sorpe river since 1935 to create Lake Sorpe, the deepest reservoir in the entire Sauerland region. Sailors pursue their hobby here in the middle of the Sauerland-Rothaargebirge Nature Park. Accordingly, the landscape around the lake is very natural and characterised by many trees. Nevertheless, there are a few campsites and a few restaurants. Matthias Liebscher offers various sailing holidays on Lake Sorpe. Information can be found on his website segelmitmir.com. Liebscher describes the current water level as typical for this time of year. "Fortunately, people are still interested in what we have to offer," says Liebscher, adding: "We are currently in the process of expanding our programme so that the individual courses can be carried out with the appropriate quality."
Interview: Three questions for Ludger Harder
Ludger Harder, 59, is head of the Northern Dams Division at the Ruhrverband. He is responsible for the Henne, Möhne and Sorpe dams.
How do you assess the current water levels in NRW?
The Ruhrverband dams on which sailing is permitted are all over 95 per cent full. In this respect, there is nothing to prevent a good start to the sailing season on the Bigge, Sorpe, Henne and Möhne dams.
How does the water level control work?
In winter, we do not dam up the three reservoirs Bigge, Möhne and Henne until they are completely full, but keep so-called flood protection areas ready. From the end of April, we could dam the reservoirs completely full, but we don't do that. We always leave a little space to be able to intercept the odd flood wave. These are usually less pronounced later in the year because the vegetation then absorbs more water than in winter.
And what if it's another extremely dry year?
We are very careful to conserve resources when it comes to flood protection. Before last year, when there was a lot of precipitation, we had 13 dry, sometimes very dry years. That is why it is important to us that the reservoirs are well filled, especially at the beginning of the year.
