Skûtsjesilen Saturday, July 18, is the first race of the SKS Skûtsjesilen championship. You can experience this annual event from start to finish in Grou. Traditionally, the 14 skûtsjes will moor one hour before the start in the charming village center. Then the skûtsjes will be brought to the start, in a long drag, by a tug for the race on the Pikmar and Wide Ie. Not only the race but also the trail to the start attracts every year again thousands of visitors. During the race it’s very nice to be on the water and when the race is over Grou is the party place to be. A beautiful tradition since 1854 The first races for cargo ships were already organized in 1854 in Grou. Those days races were mainly held when the sailors had no cargo and that way they still were able to earn some money. The sailing clubs Oostergoo and Frisia organized these competitions. Later on, in 1929, the Kommisje Skûtsjesilen Grou was founded and this committee organized the races from that moment on. In 1957 the Skûtsje Kommisje bought a skûtsje. Just like Eernewâld and Sneek This way, the traditional racing with historical cargo ships was preserved and became an annual sailing championship between 14 water sports villages and cities. With skippers at the helm descended in a straight line from ‘skûtsje families’ who earned their living with a cargo ship in Fryslân for at least ten years in the last century. Will It Doarp Grou once again be the SKS-champion? Douwe Visser is helmsmen of the Grouster Skutsje since 2005. In his first season, Visser and his crew became SKS champion with It Doarp Grou. He repeated this performance in the sailing season of 2009. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 Visser finished second. In 2014, Douwe Visser became champion again and in 2015 and 2016 he finished third. In 2017 and 2018, the champion pennant could again be in top. After the last race on de Snitser Mar, which will be sailed on August 9, we will know If It Doarp Grou will be rewarded again with the Champion pennant of the Sintrale Kommisje Skûtsjesilen. IFKS Skûtsjesilen esides the SKS championship there are the ‘Open Frisian Championships Skûtsjesilen’ (the IFKS). This championship is for 60 to 65 IFKS approved vessels in four different classes. The IFKS was founded because many skûtsje owners were not admitted to the SKS. The IFKS starts annually on the IJsselmeer in Hindeloopen, the week after the SKS Championship. evenementen
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