Club nautique Ichtus

Club nautique Ichtus is a non-profit association based at the harbour of Saint-Blaise (canton of Neuchâtel), on Saint-Blaise bay at the north-east end of Lake Neuchâtel. It was founded in 1981 by a group of friends from the youth group of the Saint-Blaise – Hauterive Reformed parish and is built on sharing: members use a common fleet of water-sports equipment (canoes, kayaks, SUPs, rowing boats, windsurf boards, wingfoil gear, dinghies, catamarans and keelboats, buoyancy aids and wetsuits), maintained during volunteer work days.

For wingfoilers, the club provides board and foil sets graded by level (beginner, intermediate, expert) and wings from 4 to 6 m². Access to this gear requires an internal certification: handling and storing the equipment, a return trip across the bay to show basic control, and questions on personal safety, respect for other water users and care of the equipment. Members who are not ready yet can join the club's wingfoil introduction courses, run by members (eight courses scheduled in 2026, from late April to late August). Helmets are compulsory.

Ichtus is neither a school nor a rental outlet: the equipment is for members only, and the club has no kitesurf gear or lessons (it refers kiters to Swisskite). It rents out storage for private equipment (lockers, cupboards, board racks under the clubhouse), runs summer water-sports weeks for 10 to 16 year olds and has a youth windsurfing and racing section, the Neuchâtel Funboard Team (NFT). Its website also announces the Surf Party held each June at St-Blaise Beach (in 2026: a pumpfoil afterwork, a Swiss Windsurfing regatta and the Swiss Foiling Tour).

There is no official season: well-equipped members sail all year round, but most come between mid-May and mid-September, when the water is above 15 °C; the high season runs from June to August. From October to April a wetsuit and buoyancy aid are essential and members are asked not to go out alone.

Members open the clubhouse and log their outings through their online account (ichtus.club) or on the computer under the clubhouse. New members first attend a welcome session, held every 10 to 15 days between mid-April or early May and mid-September depending on the weather. Each member owes two hours of volunteer work per season.

Wingfoil: launching is from the grass and pebble area between the main ramp and the rescue ramp, and wingfoilers keep clear of all other boats. Beginners should not go out above force 3 and should watch out for the bise and the Joran, which can rise suddenly on summer afternoons from 3 pm. The 2026 introduction courses were held mostly on weekdays from 5.30 to 7.30 pm, and on Thursday afternoons. Courses and certification are booked and paid in the member area; courses are open first to people who have been members for at least a year, with new members accepted if places remain.

Contact by email; no phone number is published. The website links to a webcam and a weather station (air, water, wind).