Curated — not first-hand
SUP 11-City Tour
A long-distance paddleboard tour of roughly 220 km through the Frysian canals, lakes and towns of the northern Netherlands, following the route of the historic eleven-city ice-skating tour. The organisers run it in two main forms: a staged event across five days, and a non-stop edition where the whole route is paddled in one continuous effort within published cut-off times. Recreational and competition entries paddle the same course, and there are team, tandem and prone categories as well as solo. Dates, categories, cut-offs and entry prices change year to year — take them from the organisers.
Official information & entry →Type
Challenge · Adventure / expedition · Race
Where
Friesland, the Netherlands
Who it suits
Paddlers who want a genuine multi-day distance challenge rather than a short race — the staged event for a first big one, the non-stop edition only for experienced endurance paddlers with a support team.
Sensible experience
Comfortable paddling long hours on flat water day after day. The non-stop edition asks for proven overnight distance experience and self-management.
Equipment
A board you can sit and stand on for hours, comfortable clothing for repeated days, feeding and hydration you have actually tested, lights and support arrangements for the non-stop option.
Where this comes from
Skip has not paddled this event. It is here because he has a personal connection to the event and the people around it, and because it fits the endurance and adventure paddling this site is built on. The format, dates and rules described are the organisers' own, paraphrased — check the current details with them.
What makes it distinctive
Flat, historic and relentless. Very little of the difficulty is technical — it comes from accumulated distance, wind and how well you look after yourself between stages.
What preparation matters
Back-to-back long days rather than short hard sessions: durable technique, hands and feet, pacing, feeding, recovery between stages, and canal-specific work on locks, bridges, wind and busy water.
Prepare with Skip
How SHACADEMY can help you get ready
This is exactly the kind of event our endurance and multi-day preparation suits: distance build, pacing and feeding, kit decisions, and the practical planning behind travel and a support crew. Skip has not entered it, so nothing here is a competitor's account of the route.
Sources & current information
Event dates, distances, classes, entry requirements and rules are set by organisers and change. Nothing here is an entry service, an endorsement or an affiliation — other than GLAGLA UK, which SHACADEMY co-founded. Always enter through the official organiser and read their current information before planning travel or training around an event.
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