What set the ‘Johann Max Böttcher’ in motion on the Alster
Just under a year ago, the Böttcher Foundation provided funding for a new RS Venture Connect. Since the spring, the boat has been moored at the Hamburg Sailing Club – and, in the space of a single season, has become the backbone of inclusive sailing activities on the Alster. A look back – so that we do not forget what a single donation can achieve and make possible.
The donation – and a name for the boat
On 17 October 2025, at the opening of the final of the Heinz Kettler Germany Cup at the Hamburg Sailing Club, Oliver von Schweinitz, on behalf of the Böttcher Foundation, presented the donation for a new RS Venture Connect – an accessible sailing boat recognised by World Sailing as the international standard class for para and inclusive sailing. Coaches can sail on board, and the seats and steering can be individually adjusted. The Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf supplemented the funding for the boat with a further donation at the start of 2026.
The boat was delivered in spring 2026. On Ascension Day, during the first match day of the 2026 Heinz Kettler Germany Cup on the Outer Alster, Sophia from the Heinz Kettler Inclusive Youth Sailing Team Germany christened the boat in honour of the founder: ‘Johann Max Böttcher’. Since then, it has been moored year-round at the Hamburg Sailing Club on the Alster. Together with the “DuDa”, it is one of only two accessible specialised boats permanently stationed on the Alster.
What the boat has made possible since May
Inclusive sailing means that people with and without disabilities sail together in the same boats – from their first trial sail right through to competitive regattas. On the Alster, the ‘Johann Max Böttcher’ has been out on the water almost every day this season for this very purpose:
Training sessions for the Heinz Kettler Inclusive Youth Sailing Team Germany. Four children and young people with disabilities are training on the boat to make their way into competitive regatta racing – together with the Hamburg Sailing Club, on a weekly basis and during two-day training weekends. Sophia, who took up sailing around a year and a half ago, competed in several regattas in this class in 2026: she won the Helga Cup, the world’s largest women’s sailing regatta, and finished third on the day at the final of the Heinz Kettler Germany Cup in Bütgenbach, Belgium.
School sailing with the Bugenhagen School in Alsterdorf. Every Wednesday and Thursday, inclusive sailing is an integral part of the school curriculum at the Hamburg Sailing Club. Pupils who use a wheelchair can only take part in sailing lessons with this boat – the ‘Johann Max Böttcher’ makes the difference between watching from the sidelines and sailing along.
One-to-one training for children and young people with severe disabilities. Many projects involving children and young people with the most severe disabilities are only possible on this boat: individually adapted seats, transferring from a wheelchair into the boat, and a coach on board. In 2026, too, a pair of ten-year-old twins with a severe muscular disorder took to the water – in collaboration with the Werner Otto Institute, which sails with us on the Alster every Thursday. The hope is that the pair will be able to continue in 2027.
High-level regatta racing. Steffi Brix and Dirk Thalheim, the Alster HSC team, train on the “Johann Max Böttcher” – and in 2026 were more successful than ever before: bronze in the para category at the RS Venture Connect European Championships in Travemünde, and second place in the overall standings of the Heinz Kettler Germany Cup. In early October, they will compete for Wir sind Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V. at the Inclusive Sailing World Championships in Portimão, Portugal.
Major regattas on the Alster. The 2026 Helga Cup and the first match day of the Heinz Kettler Germany Cup were contested using this boat. It is only with the ‘Johann Max Böttcher’ that the fleet is large enough to host such regattas on the Alster.
Thank you – and: we need more of this
The Hamburg Sailing Club and Wir sind Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V. would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the Böttcher Foundation and the Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf. A single donation has funded school sailing, one-to-one training, a youth team, regatta successes and two major regattas on the Alster this season. This is exactly what shows what an accessible boat can achieve.
And that is precisely why we need more of it. The need for one-to-one and one-to-two training for children and young people with severe disabilities is growing; the demand exceeds the capacity of two boats. This season has shown just what a single boat can achieve. To keep this going, we need more partners: to support the courses themselves, to cover the fees for qualified trainers – the only item that has to be raised anew every year – and to maintain the boats that make all of this possible in the first place.
The Hamburg Sailing Club and Wir sind Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V. welcome any support to ensure that children and young people with and without disabilities can continue to sail together on the Alster in 2027. Contact: sven.juergensen@wir-sind-wir.org · www.wir-sind-wir.org
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