 |
 photo: Robert Horlacher |
|
Length -- 78.5m Breadth -- 15.9m Major re-builds -- 1968 and 2005 Passenger capacity -- 1,000 (originally 1,600) | ||
| 28th March 2024 |
Broke down mid-lake on her first "test sailing" of the year and
had to be rescued by
| |
| 15th October 2023 | Final sailings of the season Operated the autumn weekend sailings from Geneva to Lausanne and return on Sunday 15th October | |
| 19th June 2023 | Relocated to Geneva and took over the weekend sailings 102-105 from Geneva to Lausanne commencing on Monday 19th June | |
| 15th June 2023 | Operated a special Jazz Cruise from Nyon on Thursday 15th June | |
| 5th June 2023 | First timetabled sailings of the season Operated sailings 900-253-802-803-204-205 from Lausanne to the Upper Lake vice | |
| 14th May 2023 | First sailing of the season Took part in the annual pre-season naval parade off-Morges on Sunday 14th May | |
| 15th October 2022 | Final sailings of the season Operated the autumn weekend sailings from Geneva to Lausanne and return on Saturday 15th October brfore breaking down the following day | |
| 19th June 2022 | Relocated to Geneva and took over the weekend sailings 102-105 from Geneva to Lausanne commencing on Sunday 19th June | |
| 22nd May 2022 | Took part in the reinstated annual pre-season naval parade off-Montreux on Sunday 22nd May | |
| 15th April 2022 | First sailings of the season Operated sailings 822-823-824-825-224-225 from Lausanne to the Upper Lake vice the broken down PS Rhône on Good Friday 15th April | |
| 31st October 2021 | Final sailings of the season Unusually opened the winter weekend short sailings in the "Little Lake" from Geneva on both Friday 29th October and Sunday 31st October vice the smaller MPV Vevey | |
| 8th October 2021 | Owing to the breakdown of sister PS La Suisse, again took over the Upper Lake sailings 920-921-922-923 from Friday 8th October for the remainder of the autumn timetable | |
| 27th September 2021 | Covered the Autumn Lausanne to the Upper Lake sailings 920-921-922-923 from sister PS La Suisse for four days commencing commencing Monday 27th September | |
| 18th September 2021 | First public timetabled sailing of her
"delayed" season After spending the whole of the summer undertaking repairs and waiting for parts, the paddle steamer finally to return to public service from Geneva covering sailings 102-105 vice a motor vessel on Saturday 18th September after a special sailing the previous afternoon | |
| 7th September 2020 | Last public sailing of the "delayed"
season Instead of sailing light to Ouchy dock for winter lay-up, the paddle steamer operated sailing 320 from Geneva to Yvoire on Monday 7th September before mv Henry-Dunant took over the Geneva based roster for the rest of the Autumn period | |
| 28th June 2020 | Despite the summer timetable being planned to start on Sunday 21st June Coronavirus precautions forced the summer service to be put back by a week to Sunday 28th June with the paddle steamer operating the Geneva based daily round trip sailings 102-105 from Geneva to Lausanne and back | |
| 6th June 2020 | First public sailing of the "delayed"
season Following the decision by the Federal Council to allow limited lake shipping, a paddle steamer operated a temporary timetable of four round trip sailings from Lausanne to Vevey - inter-connecting with MPV Vevey for onward travel to the Upper Lake commencing Saturday 6th June | |
| 30th May 2020 | The paddle steamer was originally planned to operate the Lausanne to the Upper Lake weekend sailings 920-921-922-923-288-289< vice her sister PS La Suisse on Saturday 30th May (repeated the following Sunday and Monday) to celebrate her 100th Birthday, but this had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus precautions | |
| 17th September 2019 | Operated the Evian-les-Bains ferry service for a couple of weeks to enable mv Léman to undertake a quick overhaul commencing Tuesday 17th September | |
| 12th August 2019 | Switched back places with MPV Vevey at Yvoire on Monday 12th August to cover the remainder of the Summer Geneva based roster | |
| 17th July 2019 | Switched places with MPV Vevey
at Yvoire on Wednesday
17th July to provide extra capacity in the Vevey area during the Fête des
Vignerons period ..........as well as providing some additional special cruises to the Féte when mv Lausanne was not available | |
| 16th June 2019 | Took over the summer Geneva based daily round trip
sailings 102-105
from Geneva to Lausanne and back commencing
Sunday 16th June This duty included the "new" Friday After Work 'Fish' Cruises commencing 21st June | |
| 19th May 2019 | Took part in the annual pre-season
naval parade | |
| 14th April 2019 | First public sailing of the
season The paddle steamer operated the sailings 102-105 from Geneva to Lausanne and return vice the regular motor vessel | |
| 1st October 2018 | Cover the Evian-les-Bains ferry service for a couple of weeks to enable mv Léman to undertake a quick overhaul commencing Monday 1st October | |
| 17th June 2018 | The paddle steamer spent the peak-season operating the daily sailings 102-105 from Geneva at 1015 to Lausanne and return commencing Sunday 17th June | |
| 20th May 2018 | Took part in the annual pre-season naval parade off-Evian-les-Bains on Sunday 20th May | |
| 15th May 2018 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer operated the sailings 920-921-922-933 from Lausanne to the Upper Lake instead of sister PS La Suisse | |
| 6th October 2017 | Last public sailing of
the season Following the completion on the overhaul of mv Léman the paddle steamer was laid up after operating the morning Evian-les Bains ferry runs on Friday 6th October | |
| 25th September 2017 | The paddle steamer took over the Evian-les-Bains ferry service to enable mv Léman to undertake a quick overhaul commencing lunchtime on Monday 25th September | |
| 18th June 2017 | The paddle steamer spent the peak-season operating the daily sailings 102-105 from Geneva at 1015 to Lausanne and return commencing Sunday 18th June | |
| 25th May 2017 | The
paddle steamer was again rostered to cover a smaller
motor vessel on
Ascension Thursday 25th May but on arrival at Lausanne
broke down (with
a lubrification problem in the low pressure cylinder) and was taken out of service for
quick repairs In consequence return sailing 105 was covered by the much smaller ferry mv Ville-de-Genève - a rare occasion for her to visit Geneva The paddle steamer was quickly repaired and returned light to Geneva the following day allowing her to cover the weekend sailings as originally planned | |
| 21st May 2017 | The paddle steamer took part in the Naval Parade off-Cully, having started from Geneva at 1000 on Sunday 21st May | |
| 7th May 2017 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer operated the 1015 sailing from Geneva instead of a smaller motor vessel on Sunday 7th May to provide additional capacity for the Swiss Navigation Sunday crowds | |
| 29th April 2017 | The paddle steamer opened her season with a special charter in connection with the ABVL AGM at Montreux on Saturday 29th April | |
| 14th October 2016 | Last public sailing of
the season Following the end of the summer season, the paddle steamer was used on the Lausanne to Evian-les Bains ferry run vice the regular motor vessel finishing with the 2045 sailing 1122 from Evian-les-Bains on Friday 14th October | |
| 4th June 2016 | Rolle Belle Eopque 1900 Weekend The paddle steamer operated the 1045 sailing 421 from Lausanne vice the regular motor vessel to provide additional capacity and to be more in keeping with the event on both Saturday 4th June and Sunday 5th June | |
| 24th April 2016 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer opened her season on Swiss Navigation Day to provide additional capacity on the 1015 sailing from Geneva instead of the smaller | |
| 18th October 2015 | Last public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer continued in service throughout the autumn and finished service on Sunday 18th October by operating sailings 120-121 from Geneva to Lausanne-Ouchy and return | |
| 24th June 2015 | The paddle steamer
broke down (with
a defect in a part of the lubrication system which has damaged some parts of the engine) at
Nyon whilst working sailing
102 from Geneva on
Wednesday 24th June where the sailing was terminated - passengers
for Yvoire were transferred to
She later made her own way to Ouchy dock for repairs and her sailings on Thursday 25th June were initially covered by the much smaller She subsequently returned to service operating sailing 107 on the afternoon of Wednesday 22nd July | |
| 24th May 2015 | Naval Parade Took part in the annual pre-season naval parade off-Rolle on Sunday 24th May | |
| 26th April 2015 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer opened her season on Swiss Navigation Day and provided additional capacity on the 1015 sailing from Geneva instead of a smaller | |
| 7th September 2014 | Last public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer finished service at the end of the summer timetable and operated her regular the 1015 sailing from Geneva to Lausanne and return on Sunday 7th September | |
| 25th May 2014 | Took part in the annual pre-season naval parade off-Vevey on Sunday 25th May | |
| 27th April 2014 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer provided additional capacity on the 1015 sailing from Geneva instead of a smaller MPV Vevey for Swiss Navigation Day on Sunday 27th April | |
| 4th October 2013 | Last public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer closed her extended her season on Friday 4th October by operating two round trips to Château-de-Chillon followed by the peak evening ferry service to Thonon-les-Bains | |
| 28th April 2013 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer opened her season on Swiss Navigation Day and provided additional capacity on the 1015 sailing from Geneva instead of a smaller motor vessel on Sunday 28th April | |
| 21st Octber 2012 | Last public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer remained in service until the end of the autumn season and operated the 1015 sailing from Geneva to Lausanne and on Sunday 21st October | |
| 29th April 2012 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer opened her season on Swiss Navigation Day and provided additional capacity on the 1015 sailing from Geneva instead of a smaller motor vessel on Sunday 29th April | |
| 11th September 2011 | Last public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer finished service at the end of the summer timetable and operated the 1015 sailing from Geneva to Lausanne and on Sunday 11th September | |
| 5th June 2011 | First public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer took part in the pre-season Naval Parade on Sunday 5th June | |
| Summer 2011 | Spent all the summer season on the 1015 Geneva to Lausanne/Evian-les-Bains sailings commencing Whit Sunday 12th June | |
| 11th September 2011 | Last public sailing of
the season The paddle steamer operated her regular 1015 sailing from Geneva on Sunday 11th September | |
| 2010 | The paddle steamer undertook a major re-build | |
| 12th September 2009 | Last public sailings of
the season The paddle steamer returned to service specially on Saturday and Sunday 12th and 13th September and operated her regular peak-summer sailings sailings 100-713-714-105 from Geneva for the Journées européennes du patrimoine | |
| 31st August 2009 | Last regular sailings of the season Her planned season was cut short at the end of August and her place on the Geneva to Lausanne and Evian-les-Bains run was covered by the smaller mv Général Guisan - it is understood this was simply an economy measure | |
| 9th June 2009 | The paddle steamer
broke down at
Lausanne after working
sailing 100 from Geneva on
Thursday 9th July resulting in the smaller
She returned to service at 1535 with sailing 105 on the following day See news page for further details | |
| Summer 2009 | Spend the whole of the summer season on the 1015 Geneva to Lausanne/Evian-les-Bains sailings commencing Sunday 14th June then daily until Sunday 13th September | |
| 26th April 2009 | First sailings of the season Swiss Navigation Day Operated the popular 1015 Geneva to Evian-les-Bains and return sailings 110-111 along the French coast on Sunday 26th April | |
| 30th October 2008 | Last
public sailings of the season The paddle steamer along with sister | |
| 14th July 2008 | Operated the first of several evening Fireworks Cruises from Lausanne on Monday 14th July | |
| 9th June 2008 | The paddle steamer broke
down shortly after leaving Rivaz/St-Saphorin on
sailing 922 on
Monday 9th June whilst operating the afternoon
sailing 922 from Lausanne to Montreux - she was able to continue
with some delay after "on the spot" repairs See news page for further details | |
| Summer 2008 | Spend the
whole of the summer season on the Lausanne to the Upper Lake
The greater use of the large paddle steamer in 2009 was due to her sister PS La Suisse being out of service for a major | |
| 25th May 2008 | Took part in the pre-season Naval Parade on Sunday 25th May off-Vevey | |
| 27th April 2008 |
First sailings of the season Swiss Navigation Day Unusually operated the 1000 Geneva to Evian-les-Bains and return sailings 300-301 on Sunday 27th April - this was a rare oppurtunity to sail along the French coast by paddle steamer between Yvoire and Evian-les-Bains (a regular route until September 2005 | |
| 31st October 2007 |
The paddle steamer remained active operating some
private charter sailings On her final day, it was planned she should "support" the naming ceremony of the new Navibus mv Genève - unfortunately she came into contact with the wall adjacent to Geneva Mont Blanc pier in strong winds on Wednesday 31st October and damaged her bow - apparantly taking on board some lake water Fortunately an internal bulkhead prevented it spreading into the ship's engine Repairs were made over the winter | |
| 30th September 2007 | Last public sailings of
the season The paddle steamer operated the six timetabled | |
| 4th September 2007 |
Collided with the fenders at Geneve Pâquis on a stormy Tuesday 4th September as
she arrived for a charter sailing and sustained a hole in her hull over the waterline Her subsequent charter sailings were covered by her sister PS La Suisse for the next couple of weeks - see also news page | |
| 8th July 2007 | The paddle steamer broke
down twice on
sailing 201 on
Sunday 8th July with generator problems - after departing
Montreux approximately 30 minutes late, she sailed direct to Lausanne In consequence the lunchtime Haut-Lac Express sailings 202-203 were cancelled but quick repairs ensured a return to service with the 1530 Lausanne to Montreux and return (sailings 922-923) See news page for further details | |
| Peak Summer 2007 |
Operated the Lausanne to the Upper Lake
Haut-Lac Express roster which in
2006 (and early/late summer 2007) was
operated by her smaller sister | |
| 6th April 2007 | First public sailings
of the season Following a late change of rosters, the large paddle steamer opened the season on Good Friday 6th April and operated the new spring period Lausanne - Montreux-Château-de-Chillon sailings over Easter followed by weekends only for the remainder of the month | |
| 3rd September 2006 | Last sailings of the
season Operated sailings 101-304-882-886 on Sunday 3rd September | |
| Peak Summer 2006 | The large paddle steamer spent the whole of the peak summer season in timetabled service (rather than just the main school holiday period) operating a round trip from Lausanne to Geneva and back every day | |
| Early Summer 2006 | The large paddle steamer spent the early summer season in timetabled service operating the short Geneva based local cruises from Ascension Thursday 25th May until her smaller sister took over for the Peak Season at the start of July | |
| 21st May 2006 | First public sailings
of the season Took part in the pre-season Naval Parade on Sunday 21st May | |
| 11th September 2005 | Last public sailing of the
season Journées du patrimoine Operated a special excursion from Geneva to Lausanne-Bellerive on Sunday 11th September in connection with the CGN Works 'open day' | |
| 17th July 2005 | Took over the
"2 Day Roster" along the
full length ot the lake from
| |
| 2nd July 2005 | First public sailings of
the season Operated four "thank you" cruises from Lausanne on Saturday 2nd July for those who contributed to her repairs - a lunch cruise followed by two short mini-cruises ending the day with a 'one-way' Evening Dinner Cruise from Lausanne to Geneva Similar cruises operated from Geneva on the following day, returning to Lausanne in the evening Prior to the weekend, commencing Wednesday 15th June, there were a few pre-season private charter cruises mainly from Lausanne | |
| 2004 | A boiler inspection confirmed that the boiler is re-usble -
the CGN have
announced that most of the necessary money to return the paddle
steamer to operational status has been raised thanks largely to the fundraising
efforts of the ABVL The paddle steamer spent the first half of 2004 (until Monday 12th July) in the covered dock at Ouchy and was subsequently moored in the harbour where repair work continued outside | |
| 18th August 2003 | Shortly after leaving Geneva at 1015 on
Monday 18th August the
paddle steamer suffered an explosion which forced an immediate
withdrawal from service See also photo feature | |
| 10th to 28th August 2003 |
"Weeks of the Simplon" The paddle steamer was planned to operate timetabled sailings 36-91 or sailings 80-191 along the full length of the lake instead of the smaller This arrangement terminated on Monday 18th August immediately after the start of sailing 80 - see item above | |
| 9th August 2003 |
The paddle steamer operated an evening fireworks cruise from Yvoire to Geneva (Fêtes de Genève) on Saturday 9th August | |
| 29th May to 3rd June 2003 |
"G8 Summit" at
Evian-les-Bains Operated special ferry sailings from Lausanne for journalists and other officials attending the conference | |
| 1st May 2003 | First sailings of the
season Operated timetabled | |
| 5th September 2002 | Last public sailing of the
season Operated the annual special sailing from Lausanne depart 0915 to the 525th Thonon-les-Bains Fair on Thursday 5th September | |
| 21st August 2002 | Last timetabled sailing of
2002 Operated the 'small lake' sailings 92-174-99-214-205 from Geneva on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd August vice | |
| 17th August 2002 | Operated the final evening disco cruises from Geneva on Saturday 17th August | |
| 11th to 15th August 2002 |
"Week of the Simplon" The paddle steamer operated timetabled sailings 36-91 or sailings 80-191 along the full length of the lake instead of the smaller PS Savoie between 11th and 15th August | |
| 10th August 2002 | The paddle steamer operated an evening fireworks cruise from Yvoire to Geneva (Fêtes de Genève) on Saturday 10th August | |
| 26th July to 17th August 2002 |
The paddle steamer commenced a short season of (mainly dicso) evening cruises from Geneva on Friday 26th July | |
| 12th May 2002 | Fifth public sailing of the
season The paddle steamer took part in the six paddle-steamer pre-season publicity "Le Carrousel de la Harpe" Naval Parade from Rolle on Sunday 12th May | |
| 28th April 2002 | Fourth timetabled sailing of 2002 Swiss Navigation Day Operated timetabled sailings 33-50-64-155 - 1015 and 1230 Lausanne to | |
| 21st April 2002 | Third timetabled sailing of
2002 Operated timetabled sailings 33-50-64-155 on Sunday 21st April - 1015 and 1230 Lausanne to | |
| 14th April 2002 | Second timetabled sailing of
2002 Operated timetabled sailings 30-91a-80b-191 on Sunday 14th April - 1000 and 1400 Lausanne to | |
| 13th April 2002 | First sailings of the
season Entered service much earlier than normal and operated timetabled sailings | |
| 6th October 2001 | Last public sailings of the
season Operated the first of a new series of Autumn Taverne Alsacienne Cruises from Lausanne on Saturday 6th October | |
| 15th August 2001 | Operated timetabled
sailings
| |
| 14th August 2001 | Operate timetabled
sailings | |
| 5th July 2001 | The first of a series of regular Evening Salsa and Dance cruises took place on Thursday 5th July | |
| 19th May 2001 |
Return to service of PS Montreux after major rebuild Second public sailing of 2001 on Saturday 19th May "Steamer Parade" | |
| 29th April 2001 | First public sailings of the
season Operated timetabled sailings | |
| 16th September 2000 | The paddle steamer took part in
a special emergency 'rescue
exercise' conveying passengers from Montreux at 1100 on
Saturday 16th September See also the special photo feature | |
| 7th September 2000 | Last planned public sailing of 2000 was a special sailing at 0915 from Lausanne to the 523rd Thonon-les-Bains Fair on Thursday 7th September | |
| 31st August 2000 |
Last minute substitution Operated timetabled sailings |
|
| 9th August 2000 |
Last minute substitution Operated timetabled sailings ( | |
| 8th August 2000 |
Last minute substitution Operated timetabled sailings ( | |
| 5th August 2000 | On Saturday 5th August operated an evening fireworks cruise from Lausanne to Geneva | |
| 2nd August 2000 |
Last minute substitution Operated timetabled sailings | |
| 17th July 2000 | Operated timetabled
sailings | |
| 14th July 2000 | On Friday 14th
July operated an evening
fireworks cruise from Lausanne to | |
| 8th July 2000 |
Operated timetabled sailings
| |
| 4th July 2000 |
Last minute substitution - operated timetabled
sailings
| |
| 30th June 2000 |
Last minute substitution - operated timetabled
sailings
| |
| 1st July 1999 | Operated timetabled
sailings
| |
| 1st July 1998 | On standby at Lausanne (Ouchy) - operated vice
| |
| August 1970 | Mainly on standby at Lausanne (Ouchy) Only operated 7 days in public service - sailings 21-46-51-70 (5 days) vice | |
5th April 2024
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John B Bird
