THE STEAMERS of Western Europe’s largest natural lake

All these people lived or still live on the shores of Lake Geneva, in Switzerland or France. They have all had the good fortune to admire the beautiful steamers that have plied the lake for 190 years.

“Always clockwise!” says the man in overalls who is teaching three boatmen in training how to coil a mooring line. As I approach to take a picture, he introduces himself: “Chenaux.” Frankly, I never imagined that this is how I would meet the First Captain, the “admiral” of the Lake Geneva General Navigation Company (CGN).

The man who heads the fleet of 16 boats (150 to 1,200 passenger capacity) is modest. Like Switzerland itself, perhaps, where it is not uncommon to come across a government minister walking home with his groceries in Bern, the capital.

Olivier Chenaux joined the CGN as an apprentice painter at age 17, and climbed the ladder rung by rung until he obtained his current rank in 1997. On average, it takes about fifteen years to become a captain on Lake Geneva. Many years of experience are needed to learn the secrets of navigating the lake, which despite its beauty can be quite treacherous. Then it takes another three years to rise from Second Captain, authorized to pilot diesel-powered ships, to First Captain, a level that provides access to the “holy grail”: the right to command one of the five Belle Époque steamers on Lake Geneva. We are going to hear about this experience from First Captain Chenaux and his predecessor, First Captain Aldo Heymoz, who held the position for 20 years.

But before that, we need to understand the unique character of these paddle steamers that are part of Lake Geneva’s heritage.

The boats are charming not just because of their steam engines, but also their paddle wheels, which churn powerfully through the water to propel the craft along. Some ships have a wheel at the back (sternwheelers)—like the famous Mississippi riverboats—while others possess two side wheels (sidewheelers), like those of Lake Geneva.

There are only about 50 seaworthy historic paddle steamers left in the world today, 19 of which are in Switzerland: 8 on Lake Geneva and 5 on Lake Lucerne, with the rest on the lakes of Zurich (2) Thun (1), Brienz (1), Constance (1) and Greifen (1). The fleet of Lake Geneva steamers, the largest in the world in terms of passengers carried, can be considered part of mankind’s patrimony. If UNESCO added a category for movable heritage, there is no doubt that these boats would be included—and that certain watchmaking creations would also be on the list.

The first steamboat on Lake Geneva carried a hundred passengers in 1823. Our eight beautiful boats with two decks and a lounge restaurant can each accommodate 550 to 850 people. They come from

the golden age of Swiss tourism, i.e., the Belle Époque and the Roaring Twenties. From the inauguration of the first boat in 1875 (like others, it has disappeared since) and the last one in 1927, they continue to provide the carefreeness of the open lake and the delights of the Alpine landscapes that tourists came seeking at the time.

Although here we are extolling the eight paddle steamers of the CGN, we should also include a ninth boat that still floats on Lake Geneva, the Genève. Decommissioned in 1974 due to its age, it was bought by a Geneva association to serve people in need. This is a happy vocation for this steamboat, alleviating the memory of the tragic fate that struck Sissi, Empress of Austria, on September 10, 1898, as she was about to board it.

The Venoge is another boat of the period to appear in the annals of history. Built in 1905 to transport freight, it was the first ship in the world to be equipped with a diesel engine. Though it was replaced in 1924, the small Venoge (37 m) is still sailing on the lake, available for private cruises like its eight big brothers (64 to 78 m) of the CGN, which in the summer also provide regular service.

And what are these eight titans called? Seven are named after places: S/S Montreux (the eldest, commissioned in 1904), M/S Vevey, M/S Italie II (second of that name), S/S La Suisse, S/S Savoie, S/S Simplon III and M/S Helvétie II. The youngest is named after the river that crosses from one end of Lake Geneva to the other, S/S Rhône III (1927). M/S, S/S? Are they brothers andsisters? Our two First Captains explain that, yes, the boats have a gender. But it has nothing to do with these acronyms. M/S stands for motorship and S/S for steamship. In this case, three of the boats were equipped with diesel-electric engines to replace their steam engines between 1950 and 1970.

One exception is the S/S Montreux which, after receiving a diesel engine during the same period, was retrofitted with a steam engine during its renovation between 1999 and 2001. This return to its origins paved the way for others, as we shall see.

But the history of these vessels is also the history of the men who are one with their machines and who work together in a strong spirit of solidarity.

EXPERTS IN MANEUVERING
If this morning First Captain Chenaux is drilling his three recruits until each of them perfectly prepares the rope before delivery, it is not to teach them discipline. The goal is to ensure mastery of this maneuver required to dock the 300 to 500 t (without passengers) of these venerable Belle Époque boats. However, the skill of the sailors is just one of the parameters. Depending on the circumstances, the equation that leads, not to the age of the captain, but to the successful performance of this operation is a real brain-teaser.

Let’s look at the data: with their average cruising speed of 25 km/h, the braking distance of these vessels, achieved by spinning the wheels backwards, is about 200 m, just like their turning radius. To reverse their course, they need 400 m of space. However, on sunny days, Lake Geneva teems with pleasure boats, and the warning sirens are sometimes not enough to alert inattentive boaters. The captain must then order the steamer to stop, or turn and repeat the entire approach.

The equation is further complicated by the fact that the huge steamers’ draft is only about 1.6 m, as they need to be able to navigate in very shallow waters, such as the Geneva harbor. This is nothing compared to their size and especially their enormous surface exposed to the wind, which can easily cause them to drift. “Our vessels are very much like sailboats,” says First Captain Heymoz, recalling a time when gusting winds required him to order all the windows on the upper deck to