KYC Annual Potter Race 2026
Published 14:13 on 28 Jul 2026
There are many forms of sailing at Keyhaven Yacht Club. Some involve polished race starts, tactical brilliance and fierce competition. The Annual Potter Race is somewhat different - or is it!!!
Friday 24th July saw the return of the legendary KYC Annual Potter Race. Yes, a race for an actual potty! Only at Keyhaven Yacht Club could such a prestigious trophy exist, and judging by the determination of our competitors, it clearly remains one of the most coveted prizes in sailing.
Designed as a bit of fun, the Potter Race nevertheless tests a surprising range of sailing skills, teamwork, quick thinking and, on occasions, a slightly flexible interpretation of the rules!
The race began in Keyhaven Harbour with our traditional 5, 4, 1, 0 start sequence, expertly managed by the hugely experienced Colin Dunford. To everyone's surprise, the fleet got away in remarkably good ordersomething that would have impressed even the most hardened racing sailors.
After rounding the first two race marks, crews faced their opening challenge. Land on Keyhaven beach, lower all sails, row ashore to a designated marker, then scramble back aboard, hoist sails and continue racing. What could possibly go wrong?
Well quite a lot, as it turned out! It appeared that one or two crews adopted a rather creative interpretation of the rules, resulting in several 30-second penalties. The Race Committee, naturally, remained entirely impartial and resisted all attempts at creative negotiation!
Once everyone had regained momentum, an absorbing battle developed between Hugh and Deborah, and our own Rear Commodore Sailing, Nick Langford, expertly crewed by Amanda Langford. It was nip and tuck all the way to the end of Hawkers, where Nick and Amanda edged into a slender lead.
The next task looked deceptively simple: sail to a buoy and discover the secret code needed to unlock the KYC treasure chest. Easy? Not when the wind and tide had clearly failed to read the Sailing Instructions! Boats circled, drifted and manoeuvred with varying degrees of elegance before Nick and Amanda finally found the code and moved ahead.
The fleet then raced to Hurst to locate the treasure chest and claim a piece of KYC's finest treasuresomething loosely disguised as gold! It was here that some gentle gamesmanship mayor may nothave taken place. No formal complaints were received (or at least none that could be proved!), but somehow Hugh and Deborah emerged back in front. From there it was a straight race back to the finish line at KYC.
Despite their earlier time penalty, Hugh and Deborah had built just enough of a lead to keep Nick and Amanda at bay and crossed the line as worthy winners of the coveted potty.
As with any Potter Race, however, winning wasn't really the point. The real prize was a wonderful day on the water with friends, plenty of laughter and a reminder that sailing at KYC is about far more than silverware. There were smiles all round, a few bruised egos, several highly inventive explanations for lost time, and, thankfully, no lasting damage to either boats or reputations.
A huge thank you goes to all our brave competitors, the support boat crews, and especially Colin Dunford and Jo Edwards for their help in making this year's Potter Race a great success.
Congratulations to Hugh and Deborah, commiserations to everyone who was clearly "saving their best for next year", and we look forward to doing it all again in 2027. After all, where else but Keyhaven Yacht Club could grown adults compete with such enthusiasm for the honour of taking home a potty?
Stuart Rowney, Commodore
