Mallet, one of the two engines stolen, probably by a van with a forklift, from Le Bouveret's Swiss Vapeur Parc
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Two train engines from Le Bouveret’s miniature train park at the eastern tip of Lake Geneva were stolen sometime between 5 and 16 November, after the park closed for the season 1 November. The theft was discovered only Thursday, the 17th, by a gardener at Swiss Vapeur Parc who noticed that a door appeared to have been forced open.
He called police who found that three doors had been forced and two engines were missing.
The locomotives weigh at least 800kg each. The locomotives at the park have track gauges of 5” or 7 1/4″.
The theft is creating a stir not just because the size of the train engines would make it difficult for someone to steal them, but because they are rare and well known in the world of small trains, and therefore not something that could easily be publicly displayed or used elsewhere.
The value of the trains is hard to calculate, but thousands of hours were put in by volunteers to build them, according to the park.
Canton Valais police are asking anyone with information to contact them at +41 24 486 6000.
BVB, hand-crafted by modelmaker Claude Gachnang
Photo: © Loris von Siebenthal – myimage.ch
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Ernesto Bertarelli’s D35 Alinghi whipped into Geneva Saturday afternoon to complete the Bol d’Or sailing race in a record 6 hours 25 minutes. The previous D35 category record had stood since 2004 when Zebra 7 finished in just under 9 hours.
Bertarelli’s craft, one of a number of his boats named Alinghi, took the lead at the outset and never let up, winning a tough race fought out with 25 knot winds and high waves at Le Bouveret, the eastern end of the lake, on a cold, rainy Saturday. The top four boats crossed the finish line within 10 minutes of Alinghi’s arrival.
Runners-up after Alinghi’s 16:25 finish were: Foncia, with Michel Desjoyeaux; Ylliam, with Arnaud Psarofaghis, and Okalys-Corum, with Loïck Peyron.
Hydroptère fast, but not consistently so
One of the much-awaited shows of the race, Europe’s largest inland sailing competition, was Alain Thébault’s Hydroptère, which had trouble getting going, then put on a fine show at high speeds along the shores of Evian before eventually pulling out of the race.
14:30, the race viewed from above Lutry: more than 500 boats joined the Bol d'Or in 2011
Geneva to the other end of the lake and back, a spectacular race with nearly 600 boats
Location: Port Noir, Cologny
Link out: http://www.boldormirabaud.com/en-ch/index.cfm
Start date: 18 Jun 2011
Start time: 10:00
End date: 19 Jun 2011
End time: 17:00
Title: New Year’s Eve lake cruises
Location: Lake Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: New Year’s Eve lake cruises from Vevey, Montreux, Le Bouveret, Villeneuve (haut lac), Lausanne, and Geneva with on-board dinner and party. The haut lac cruises will see the Vevey fireworks display.
Adults CHF199, children 10-16 years, CHF99, children 6-9 CHF49, under 6 free. Cruise includes meal, wine, water, tea, coffee and midnight champagne.
Reservations absolutely recommended: Infoline +41 (0)848 811 848 – www.cgn.ch
Check individual ports for exact sailing times. Enjoy! Happy New Year!
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2009-12-31
Le Bouveret, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The air is filled with noise and excitement – and a very large helicopter and a boat called Alinghi – as the new America’s Cup catamaran, all 90 feet of it, is airlifted from Lake Geneva to Genoa, Italy this morning, via the Saint Bernard pass. Follow it with the Alinghi team on Twitter (note: Twitter has been hit by attacks and you might not be able to log in to comment). Ed. note: FiSpace, a regular GenevaLunch photo contributor, alerted us – his elegant image of Alinghi on the lake is currently our home page featured photo)
Alinghi 5 sailing first time, 20 July 2009
Photos, ©Carlo Borlenghi/Alinghi (click on images to view larger)
Le Bouveret, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The long-awaited new Alinghi sailcraft hit the water at the eastern end of Lake Geneva today to much excitement: the weather was glorious, and legal tussles faded into the background as the magnificent-looking boat had its maiden sail. The Swiss America’s Cup Defender, Alinghi 5, was watched by hundreds of spectators as it went out on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, for the first time at noon, Monday 20 July.
The boat is a 90 foot multihull which took 100,000 man-hours to build. It was put on the lake 9 July and its first foray onto the lake today was in a light 5-7 ESE ‘Vauderon’, according to the Swiss weather service, Meteoswiss.
Strategist Murray Jones, who is running the trials on the new boat, said afterwards:
Images: © 2009 Stefano Grattini for Alinghi, mast airborne over Villeneuve 7 July
Update 18:00 Le Bouveret, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Alinghi, the next version of the boat that will fight for the America’s Cup world sailing title in 2010, is sitting on Lake Geneva, after its dramatic arrival by helicopter. The mast of the new Alinghi catamaran was lowered into the lake at Le Bouveret, the eastern tip of Lake Geneva, Wednesday morning 8 July, as crowds gathered to watch. The weather was not been cooperative, however, and delivery by helicopter of the rest of the 90-foot boat was delayed until 16:00.
