From Lemmer we came back up the Groote Brekken heading for Joure stopping on a mooring close to the lake called Langweer. We moored for the night on a Marrekrite pontoon where we met a lovely German couple on a sailing holiday with their two children. It is wonderful when we meet people who speak english as they always want to practice and being Australian we are quite an attraction.
Yachting is very popular in Holland and there are many yacht charter companies close to all lakes. The lakes here come in all sizes, Tjeukemeer is about 5k by 8k with two islands. The lakes have very rough water in windy conditions as they are not very deep and when the weather is fine they are very tranquil.Tjeukemeer
In Friesland, mooring spots can be found around the lakesides or on islands in the larger lakes. An organisation similar to Rotary run a system where you buy a Marrakrite flag and a map for 8 euro and this gives you access to all free Marrakrite moorings which are looked after by the organisation.
This map shows how many lakes there are in this area along with the free mooring sites.
Some moorings are small overnighters for 5 or 6 boats on lakesides where you can’t get onto land. This one had a warning about sinking into the peat bog. Check the hands, very scary.
and others large with lovely grassed areas.
While on the overnight mooring a dutch couple asked us if we knew the Skutsjes were sailing on Langweer the next afternoon and gave us a newspaper and a poster about the race. What good luck for us as we would have passed through Langweer early the next morning on our way to Joure.The Skutsje is a traditional sailing ship now about 100 years old and originally made to carry cargo on the shallow lakes. They are about 20 metres long, have almost flat bottoms and large boards on each side which drop down and act like a keel.
There were 14 Skutsje from 12 towns racing over 11 days on various lakes.
We arrived on the lake about 10 am and anchored in the first designated area we came to. There were a few boats already there soon to be followed by hundreds, all shapes and sizes. It rained heavily until about 1pm, fined up for a while then rained for half the race.
It was good fun just watching the crowds on different boats while we waited for the boats to come our way. As you will see by the number of people standing out in the rain, they take Skutsje racing very seriously
The local farmer drove his tractor with trailers full of spectators.
The race started and still it rained.
We were beginning to wonder what it was all about when the rain stopped, the sun came out, umbrellas went down and the action started.
Working up the lake
Rounding the bouy
A close finish
After the race we cruised to the other end of the lake for our overnight stop before heading for Joure.
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