A Moses steers the course
In the beginning there was a jetty. One of the first on the Schlei. It was about 50 meters long, the A7 motorway didn't yet exist. There were hardly any sailors in Arnis at the time, so soon after the war. But Ingo Jaich had no doubt that the boats would come. It was this proverbial foresight that characterized the businessman. And it formed the basis of a company that today includes nine marinas, the "im-jaich water holiday world" with its holiday homes, hotels, shipyards and around 120 employees.
With all foresight, it was certainly not planned that way when Ingo Jaich, as a 15-year-old teenager, shouldered his duffel bag and signed up with Rickmers in Hamburg. A short time later, the "RC Rickmers" set off on its maiden voyage from Bremerhaven, and that took Moses straight to Shanghai. Not without first "getting rid of the habit of drinking" during a very dramatic pub visit to the Hanseatic city's legendary "Silbersack". At least, that's how the family saga goes. Whatever the case, when Ingo Jaich returned at the age of 18, he had saved enough to take his A6 license at the nautical school. At barely 20, Ingo Jaich was the youngest captain in Germany at the time.
According to his testimony, Ingo Jaich was now a captain on long voyages. But things turned out differently: In order to be close to his wife as a young husband, he took over the ferry that traveled from Arnis to Schwansen. He was now a captain on short voyages, so to speak, a very short one at that. His trips took him little more than 200 meters across the globe. On the side, he began to broker ships and trade in salvage and sale rights to ships. And Ingo Jaich began doing earthworks. At first, the excavated material of those days could only be shoveled into a wheelbarrow, but very soon excavators were added and drainage work was carried out. The first jetty on the Schlei was built, more and more piles were driven in, sheet piles were erected. Ingo Jaich's later construction business with highly specialized dredging work, which was unique in the area, took shape. The first marinas were built, still on a third-party contract. But the marina in Kopperby was soon built, followed shortly afterwards by the marina in Flensburg. The change in the GDR led to another significant turning point in the company’s history.
Immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Ingo Jaich got in his car and drove along the coast. He had actually already planned to retire by then. But he didn't want to miss out on these opportunities. "The fall of the Berlin Wall fueled his entrepreneurial spirit," says Hans Jaich. He was particularly taken with Rügen. "He felt the same way as I did," says Till Jaich. "When I first came to Rügen in the 1990s, I immediately fell in love with Putbus. The avenues, the classical building ensemble at the circus, the castle park, the theater - I was overwhelmed. It was like a metropolis in the countryside."
Rügen became the starting point for the big tourism business. Again, as in the West, it began with a jetty in the East. This time it was one in the Lauterbach city harbor, the idyllic district of Putbus directly on the Greifswalder Bodden. An employee was hired to run it. Plots of land were bought or surveyed, including the one on which the "im-jaich water holiday world" is now located. From the shoreline to the Goor bathhouse there was nothing but water. The bay was flooded with herring sheds from the nearby fish factory. In the final phase of the GDR, the sewage was also discharged here. In addition, Putbus - unlike the seaside resorts - was not the focus of investors. There was also the unclear ownership structure: whether the state, the city, the trust or a private owner was allowed to sign the contract often seemed unclear. In other words: you had to be a visionary to take on all of this. "It was like Siberia. Nobody envied us,” Till Jaich sums up the situation.
Ingo Jaich tackled the problems the way he tackled them against all odds - with the motto: Now more than ever! "Those who had concerns encouraged him," says Hans Jaich. There were those, for example, who thought that a "Wessi" only wanted to cash in and not build anything. Ingo Jaich spoke up for this (or rather against it) in many municipal council meetings; he tried to convince people with actions, words, and his whole personality. And, if necessary, with screeching tires: in order to finally catch Putbus' mayor after several appointments had been canceled, he one day put him on the street. The rapid action à la James Bond convinced the mayor and they started talking.
Ingo Jaich drew up several contracts for the unclear ownership situation, all subject to later clarification. Planning for the construction of the harbor - at that time still in an old NVA barracks - could move forward. More employees were hired, mostly former LPG farmers from the area. The stinking bay was desilted and filled with tons of sand, later dozens of tons of stones were added for the breakwater. More jetties were built, the first holiday homes. Grain stores were converted into boathouses, the harbor grew. In order to be able to put the floating holiday homes on the water instead of on land, they were simply declared boats. At that time there were no clear regulations on such hybrid constructions. The pretty mini-islands were the first of their kind in the republic, the architectural coup was a success and made the marina famous beyond the region.
On August 15, 1997, the Putbus marina was officially opened and was renamed "IM Jaich Wasserferienwelt" for the occasion. That is to say, almost renamed. "The abbreviation IM could have aroused bad associations, especially in the former GDR," says Till Jaich. "So my father, on the advice of an advertising expert, simply made it lower case." Since then, it has been called "im jaich wasserferienwelt."
Ingo Jaich died in 2011 of an incurable illness. He didn't have much time to enjoy what he had achieved. "Oh, enjoy," says Till Jaich, "he would never have retired anyway." His company is also set to continue to grow in this spirit. "Especially on the water," says Till Jaich. After all, it is "our specialty," the company's specialty. Fishing trips, kayaking, sailing trips, boat charters, full service for everything to do with boats, including electronic equipment, sailing courses, the boat engine workshop, the shipyard, the rental of holiday homes and stilt houses - the unique and relevant offers are not limited to Rügen.
“It is equally important for us to consolidate the company, that is, to strengthen the preservation of what our father has built up,” say the two Jaich juniors.
Father Ingo Jaich was able to experience the opening of the "im-jaich" buildings in Bremerhaven. When the boarding house opened its doors, a speciality was served that has since become something of a house dish for the "im-jaich" companies: curry chicken with wild rice and mango chutney. Coincidentally, that day was exactly 50 years since the Moses Ingo Jaich had set off on its maiden voyage in Bremerhaven. Of course, not without having had a good meal beforehand. His meal of choice: curry chicken with wild rice and mango chutney.
