Piranha Wing & Windsurf Club

Piranha Wing & Windsurf Club (the Piranha Windsurfclub association) has brought together windsurfers, wingfoilers and stand-up paddlers in Biel/Bienne – Nidau, at the north-east end of Lake Biel, since 1979. Its website is in German and French.

Its stated aim is simple: to get members on the water, which means giving them somewhere to store their gear close to the lake. The club rents out yearly spaces for boards, sails, wings and SUPs in a boat hall in Nidau, Schloss-Strasse 19, about 200 m from the shore where members launch, between the Barkenhafen harbour and the Hundemätteli beach. A larger area was fitted out there on 21 October 2023, which made more spaces available. Members get into the clubhouse with a key issued against a deposit.

Members are alerted through a WhatsApp group when others are heading out, so they can sail together. The website mentions no lessons or equipment rental, and the club has no kitesurfing activity.

Prices shown on the membership form (undated; website last updated on 9 March 2025):

• Membership: CHF 80 per year (required)
• Clubhouse key deposit: CHF 100, paid once (required)
• Wingfoil space: CHF 60 per year (two spaces: CHF 120)
• Windsurf space: CHF 60 per year (two spaces: CHF 120)
• SUP space: CHF 60 per year

A windsurfer usually needs two spaces for one or two boards, three or four sails and accessories.