Even for a bright late summer's day, it is already unusually hot in the morning. Thunderstorms are forecast to form over the Jura mountains in the afternoon, but by this time we want to be in Biel, our destination for the day at the northern end of Lake Biel. While the first holidaymakers from the campsite next door are already cooling off in the bathing bay, we cast off the lines of our Linssen and leave the harbour of Le Landeron and head out onto the first of the three lakes on this trip.
The itinerary for this charter week resembles a "Tour de Suisse", a round trip through our neighbouring country, albeit on a smaller scale: three lakes, four cantons and, last but not least, two languages will provide plenty of variety.
The party before the start last night was the perfect start. After Gabaël and Désirée from 3 Lacs Yacht Charter LʼAreuse", a brand new Grand Sturdy 35.0 AC, had been handed over to us, we had been given a tip from them about the annual fête du vin in nearby La Neuveville. So, without further ado, the first kilometres of the trip were covered in the saddle - even if it wasn't quite as fast after the wine festival...
The diesel is barely audible, instead the sound of the wake accompanies us on our way. We are not alone: a day cruiser with three anglers dances in our wave, two swans overtake us with loud flapping wings and far ahead, in the direction of Biel, we can make out sails. Le Landeron and the entrance to the Zihl Canal remain.
The Jura on the left, St Peter's Island on the right
After passing La Neuveville on our port side, which still seems to be slumbering after yesterday's party, the shore quickly becomes steeper. Here, the southern foot of the Jura comes right up to the lake. This is the name given to the transition from the mountains to the Swiss Plateau, that narrow and comparatively flat strip between the Jura in the north and the Alps in the south. Naturally, wine is grown in this location. The vines stretch upwards in neat rows. Further up, the slopes are densely wooded, with only the occasional karstified rock protruding.
To starboard, on the other hand, St Peter's Island passes by, as flat as it is narrow. It is actually a spit of land that is only separated by a passage at Erlach harbour. However, the road bridge there is too low for boats of our size. The only buildings here belong to a former Cluniac monastery, which today - as in many places - houses a hotel with a historic ambience.
Previous guests to the island included the great Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (who was born in Geneva in 1712 and was therefore Swiss and not French, as is often claimed) and another unavoidable universal genius of his time: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The Jura water correction
We have reached the sailors. Or rather, they have reached us: they are racing dinghies, a Fireball, two 49ers and a handful of kite-foilers shooting back and forth in the warm wind between the northern shore near Ligerz and the end of St Peter's Island. Anyone who sees Lake Biel like this would not assume that it is part of a sophisticated artificial regulation system: the Jura water correction. The term refers to nothing less than the alteration of the course of the River Aare. Since earliest times, this river, which has its source near the Italian border in the Bernese Oberland and flows into the High Rhine after three hundred kilometres, has repeatedly flooded the flat area to the east of Lake Biel and created a growing marshland: the Great Moss.
But arable land was precious on the Central Plateau and it was finally decided to drain the area once and for all. What would be completely unthinkable from a modern ecological perspective was courageously tackled from 1868 onwards.
The river was diverted via Lake Biel with the help of artificial watercourses such as the Hagneck Canal. At the same time, Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Murten were also incorporated into the system via two further connections, the Zihl Canal and the Broye Canal. This not only created additional arable land for Swiss agriculture, but also the contiguous navigable area that we will be exploring this week.
Biel/Bienne: naturally bilingual
After around an hour and a half of very relaxed sailing, we have reached Biel. We give way to a hastily departing white course boat with the hull of a speedboat, steer out of the harbour's main channel to the port side of the separate pleasure craft area and go alongside between other motor yachts on the inside of the outer pier. By the time we have registered at the Joran restaurant right at the front of the harbour and connected the shore power, it is lunchtime.
Although Biel - or rather Biel/Bienne, as it is officially known - is located in the predominantly German-speaking canton of Bern, it is also the largest bilingual city in Switzerland and the only one in which both German (49 per cent of the 55,000 inhabitants) and French (around 43 per cent) are official languages. This not only leads to dual labelling in the cityscape, but also to a relaxed cultural mix that quickly becomes visible and, above all, audible. Along Unterer Quai (or Quai du Bas), which flanks the canalised Schüss river, we quickly reach Nidaugasse, a shopping street that leads us straight into the old town. The Untergässli and Obergässli are lined with restaurant after restaurant, with cafés and cocktail bars in between. At the Crêperie Chez Bach & Buck, we treat ourselves to a Canadian Acadienne (with ham, cheese and maple syrup) and an Indiananas, where the name says it all, before turning our attention to what Biel is known for worldwide.
Watchmaking metropolis. This is no more an exaggeration than calling Paris the city of love. After all, this precision craft has characterised Biel and the surrounding area more than any other industry.
What has struck the hour: the watch industry
Even the so-called quartz crisis of the early 1980s, during which the electronic clock heralded the end of the mechanical one, was survived by establishing new technologies. At the same time, the old core industry consolidated. It is not only Rolex that produces here today. The Swatch Omega Campus also makes it clear what the time has come: in front of the administration building stands a faithful replica of the "Eagle", the lunar module from the Apollo 11 mission. Time was also stopped on the "race to the moon" with precision mechanics from Biel.
In the architecturally exciting wing building to the left of the lunar module, the Omega Museum not only tells this part of the company's history. Two other, completely different constants of the present, which are firmly associated with the brand, also come into their own: the Olympic Games - and of course James Bond.
One floor up, there is the complete contrast programme to high-performance sport and screen espionage: the Planet Swatch exhibition takes visitors on a different journey into the past, into the youth of the Golf generation. And it was colourful on the wrist. A trend that is here to stay - and a museum not to be missed. So much time is a must, in the truest sense of the word.
Part 2 of the reportage with Lake Neuchâtel will follow soon.
