History

The story of the Sterke Yerke starts in 1974. A group of boys from the Frisian capital Leeuwarden build a raft together. Oil barrels serve as buoyancy and are the basis. The raft will sail the Frisian lakes and the Wadden Sea in the following years.
Two more rafts followed Sterke Yerke II and III. The last and third raft "Sterke Yerke III" was built for the Frisian lakes but also for the Atlantic Ocean. On this website the history, the tours and the pollution are described.

The name Sterke Yerke

Sterke Jerke (Droegeham 6 desimber 1801 - Droegeham 25 july 1890), ek wol Sterke Hearke, who the byname fan Hearke Tjerks Witteveen. Hy hie dizze bynamme to refueling from syn gigantyske krêft. Sterke Jerke libbe it bigest part fan syn libben yn Badge.

The following newspaper article comes from the Leeuwarder Courant of June 12, 1974, the first time that the name Sterke Yerke was in the newspaper.