Hayama Marina Yacht Club ― Société Nautique Montreux-Clarens (2014)

Kanto | Hayama Town

Train & Transportation

One of Japan’s most prestigious yacht clubs has chosen a counterpart in Switzerland -a landlocked country- for a sister alliance. How come?

Sailing under Daibutsu’s watch

Facing Mount Fuji on the other side of the Sagami Bay, the Hayama Marina Yacht Club (HMYC) probably has one of Japan’s most iconic landscapes for a sailing practice. Founded on the occasion of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games at Port Abuzuri in Hayama, near Kamakura (Kanagawa Prefecture), the the Yacht Harbor is located right where is boating as a leisure activity in Japan is said to have first started. The HMYC seeks to provide safe yacht-related activities (e.g. races, technical support) and marine safety education to its members and the population alike.

Some of Kanto’s most experienced and active sailors can be found among its 200+ members. Their dedication is nothing short of impressive: over 20 regattas are organized throughout the year, often regardless of bad weather! Every year, the HMYC also holds the Hayama Marina International Friendship Regatta, a competition in which participating teams are assembled from the staff of foreign embassies in Tokyo. Besides the strong team that the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan sends to the race every year, however, there is yet another surprising link between the HMYC and the sea-less Alpine country.

From Sagami Bay to Lake Geneva

On July 6, 2014, HMYC Vice-Commodore Hiroto Arakawa and about 10 members travelled to Montreux, on the shore of Lake Geneva in western Switzerland, for a very important purpose. On that sunny day, in the framework of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the signature of the Treaty of Friendship and Trade between Switzerland and Japan, as well as to commemorate 50 years of HMYC, the Japanese sailor signed a twinning agreement with his friend Michel Detrey, president of the Société Nautique Montreux-Clarens (SNMC), pledging to regularly sail together, exchange techniques, and nurture a real friendly network of Swiss and Japanese sailors.

The ceremony, which was held in the presence of the Ambassador of Japan to Switzerland Ryuhei Maeda and Monteux Town Counselor Caleb Walther, was followed by a Swiss-style barbecue, and, most importantly, a cruise on the lake with the yachts of the Swiss club. Although Mr. Arakawa had already seen the lake before with his local friends, he was now seeing Montreux and its lakeside with a new fresh look: the one of a sister-sailing club.

Marina, mountains, music

The SNMC was founded on May 25, 1970, from the union of the Montreux Yacht Club (motor boats) and the Montreux Yacht Circle (yachts) to allow the construction of a common Club House at the Port du Basset. Although these entities and their 120 members would eventually merge in 2002, the Club remains affiliated to both sailing and motor boating organizations. Every year, to foster water sports and leisure sailing in the area, numerous regattas are organized, attracting many regional and international sailors. And their challenge level must be quite advanced, as former junior members of the SNMC have since won international competitions, such as the America’s Cup or the Whitbread. Not bad for a club practicing on a lake! But with such surroundings, it all becomes quite clear.

Nestled between Lake Geneva, vineyards and the snow-covered Alps, Montreux is before all a destination for all those seeking to unwind. The nearby Château de Chillon, the magnificent Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, or the Montreux Music and Convention Centre (2M2C) can all be connected via a sunny and flower-bordered lakeside road. With less than 30,000 inhabitants, Montreux is nonetheless known all around the world since 1967 for its Montreux Jazz Festival, which has attracted the world’s most iconic contemporary musicians and has grown into a global phenomenon. Artists such as Queen and David Bowie recorded numerous albums in the city, and lived there a quiet life away from the paparazzi. Whether for sailing or as a simple visitor, everyone has a good reason to pay Montreux a little visit.