A railroad brand in the Swiss Alps

In the Swiss canton of Schwyz, on Lake Wägital, floats a 180-centimeter-high track mark from optimal-sailing.com. However, regattas are never held here. The reservoir is not a sailing area – but a body of water with a special history.

100 years ago, in July 1924, a dam was built in the Wägital. Until 1929, it was the largest gravity dam in the world. The associated electricity power station was the largest in Europe. The dam and power station were built against many protests in order to supply Zurich, 40 kilometers away, with much-needed electricity.

The small village of Innerthal was located in the Wägital, above the new dam. It had to be abandoned and the valley was flooded by its dammed mountain streams within a short time after the dam was completed. The houses of the 336 villagers were demolished before the flooding and the church tower was blown up. The church and some of the houses were rebuilt at a higher point in the valley. Innerthal was later rebuilt. But most of the people moved away at that time.

So where does the regatta buoy come into play?

Some time before the 100th anniversary of the flooding of the Wägital, we received a request from the municipality of Innerthal. We designed a particularly sturdy version of our XXL railroad marker for the local parish office and delivered it to Switzerland. It now marks the location of the former village church at the bottom of the reservoir in Lake Wägital for locals and tourists – as a reminder of the old Innerthal, the fate of its inhabitants and the history beneath the surface of the water.

The parish of Wägital has erected a memorial to its old sunken church. A 1 meter 80 orange buoy floats in the reservoir where the church once stood.

If you are interested in the history of Lake Wägital, read on here.

Happy Birthday, Pirate Class!

‘optimal sailing’ was one of the sponsors of the traditional Berlin regatta “Preis der Malche” for the Pirates at Easter 2023. The regatta celebrated 50th anniversary! At the same time, the 85th birthday of the popular boat class was celebrated extensively.

We were very happy to present the sailors with our self-assembled “goodie bags” at a raffle. The contents: Our sticker with regatta signals, a class flag with felt pen (to sign and give away) and the very special pirate socks we developed!

From April 7 to 9, the Tegel Sailing Club organized this traditional regatta with a great supporting program. There were 71 boats entered, including crews from Turkey, the Czech Republic as well as Switzerland.

We thank the TSC for the nice event! It was our pleasure! To pirate sailing a triple: HACKE…BEIL 😉

Most of the photos were taken by Matthias Kreplien. For the full picture gallery of the event, click here.

Our pirate socks are available upon request from the class association.

Pictures say more than a thousand words:

3, 2, 1… Start!

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In a regatta, sailors rely on the race committee to always have everything under control. With us, your RC boats are well equipped – With innovative and handy products that make your work easier and provide a better experience for the participants!

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