The Windmill Cup 2023 took place in the Dutch Windpark Fryslân

A unique sailing spectacle unfolded in the Friesian part of the IJsselmeer on Saturday, 7 October. 125 sharp sailing yachts and 20 Lemster barges with a total of 750 crew competed for the Windmill Cup 2023. The race over 22 nautical miles from Hindeloopen took several turns right through Windpark Fryslân, the world's largest wind farm in an inland waterway.

Participants had to deal not only with wind force 5 from the southwest, but also with the unexpected air swirls caused by the rotors of the 89 turbines. This made the race between the turbines on the IJsselmeer a true spectacle.

The organisation of this unique event is in the hands of the committee of the former Nacht en Ontij Race. Harry Amsterdam (Panschipper 2023) and Peter Aukema thus responded to an invitation from Windpark Fryslân, which promised, even before its construction, that this part of the IJsselmeer would be set up again for tourist and recreational sailing after the wind farm was completed. The motto of the Windmill Cup event was therefore: 'Wind energy, we can't avoid it, but we can get through it.'

The organisation of the race for the Windmill Cup was in the hands of the committee the Koninklijke Watersportvereniging Sneek. Gerard Vesseur, member of the board of Windpark Fryslân, was very satisfied with the sailing event afterwards: 'We are aware that, as a wind farm, we have to share the IJsselmeer with many other users. We try to do that as well as possible. The estimation that sailing through the wind farm in combination with the cosy character of the Nacht en Ontij Race could appeal to many water sports enthusiasts proved correct.'

Watch the aftermovie: