Newsletter December 2025

Merry Christmas and warm greetings between the years

As in every year, our Christmas greetings reach you only after the holidays—at a time when the old year is almost over and anticipation for the new year is slowly growing.

Surely we all share similar wishes. More than ever, we wish you—and ourselves—health, and above all, peace.

We are living in turbulent and demanding times. Many things have become unsettled, and some have clearly become more difficult. The year now drawing to a close also confronted us with major challenges. Exactly one year ago, an important shop employee passed away suddenly. In addition to coping with this loss, it was a major task to compensate for his contribution in terms of personnel.

In Eckernförde, we also had to eliminate the remaining damage caused by flooding. At the same time, planning was underway for the new construction of our harbor sanitary facilities, extensive marketing activities, and the renewal of the electrical systems throughout the entire harbor. Toward the end of the season, we were finally able to strengthen our workshop team by adding a master boatbuilder.

All of this was only possible thanks to the truly dedicated commitment of all employees at Yachtsport Eckernförde—and thanks to our understanding, loyal, and satisfied customers. For this, we would like to express our sincere thanks: to all Saare owners, to the sailors in our harbor and winter storage, and to the many customers in our retail shop. We greatly appreciate the friendliness and the consistently pleasant cooperation.

Our Saare shipyard in Estonia continues to be fully booked. For the 2026 model year, we have developed and implemented several innovations—even though, admittedly, improvements to our yachts are becoming increasingly difficult. All the more pleased we are to see other shipyards adopting solutions that we have been implementing for years. In many aspects of quality and equipment, Saare yachts now set the standard.

We fondly remember a wonderful summer, a great Midsummer celebration in Estonia with many Saare sailors, and an exceptionally beautiful journey in the north with our Saare 47

Saare 38 wins ARC

The Saare 38 Havanna achieved an exceptional success in the recently completed ARC Regatta across the Atlantic.

For many years, the Conrad / Oehlert family had planned this great adventure. Back in 2016, they purchased a pre-owned Saare built in 2012 from us. Over the following years, the boat was continuously upgraded and optimized. In 2023, the family took part in the major Saare fleet cruise to Estonia.

This summer, the crew finally set off from Eckernförde on their Atlantic crossing. The Conrad / Oehlert couple started together with their daughter Luca—and reached the Caribbean shortly before Christmas, healthy, happy, and, quite incidentally, also extremely successful.

As one of the smallest yachts in the fleet, the Saare 38 finished 61st out of 102 yachts on elapsed time. On corrected time, the result was even more impressive: 5th place overall—an outstanding achievement of which the entire crew can be very proud.

more information and results

The family has sent us—and all Saare friends—a short greeting:

Dear Saare family and friends,

From the Caribbean, we send you our warmest Christmas greetings and wish you a great start to the new sailing year.

We have just completed a breathtaking journey with our Havanna. On May 18, 2025, we set off from Eckernförde after a wonderful farewell party with fantastic support from the YSE team. Our goal was to cross the Atlantic—our dream of several decades. To make this possible, we bought the Saare 38 and gradually prepared her for the challenge.

On the way to Gran Canaria, we were completely surprised by the stunning sailing grounds; we had always only had the “to-do list” and time schedule in mind. Then, on November 23, 2025, it was time to go—our daughter Luca joined us on board as crew. With the truly superbly organized ARC, we started with 144 boats in eight groups. We were among the 10 smallest yachts.

The first few days we had to find our rhythm. Each of us stood two four-hour watches, a system that worked very well. We were tumbled around in the “washing machine” 24/7, but otherwise we enjoyed the sea and the endless starry sky. After four days, we didn’t see another vessel until shortly before the finish. Our top priority was the safety of the crew. We always wore life jackets and were clipped on from the cockpit.

The next priority was the safety of the boat. Several times we really took off, with Havanna surfing down the waves at times at 14 knots. But as we all know, after the rush comes the break. To protect crew and equipment, we then reefed our trade-wind sails. They proved to be the best choice for the passage. Once the steady trade winds of 12–26 knots set in, the mainsail remained stowed. We weathered several severe squalls. Our Saare 38 Havanna carried us safely and comfortably across the Atlantic, and arriving after 17½ days in Rodney Bay on St. Lucia was indescribable—the rum punch at the welcome was delicious.

We were not racing, yet we finished 6th out of 22 yachts in our group (the small ones) and 61st out of 102 cruisers overall. Also thanks to Luca’s pronounced racing genes, on corrected time we even placed 1st in our group and 5th overall—the icing on the cake.

Ralf, Bärbel, Luca and Havanna
from the sunny and warm Caribbean

The report overflows with superlatives—because that’s exactly how it was.

BOOT Düsseldorf 2026
Saare Yachts Hall 16 – Booth D 53

From now on, you can schedule your personal viewing appointment by phone or email.

Phone 0049 – 4351 752734 Mail info@yse.de

Now, after the winter solstice, the days are getting longer again and the new season is approaching. By January at the Düsseldorf Boat Show, this will become obvious—and then it won’t be long before the first yachts return to their berths.

Long journeys are being planned, yachts carefully equipped, and prepared for the most important days and weeks of the year. Especially in these not always easy times, we become even more aware of how privileged we are to be able to spend time on the water with our own yacht.

We wish you a happy turn of the year, much optimism, and great anticipation for wonderful sailing experiences in 2026.

Warm regards,
The Nielsen Family