The Potjesregatta on September 2 and 3 at De Panne experienced little wind in its sails this year, meaning that sailboat pilots in the Standard category did not start. In grade 2, Henri Demuysere and his son Lucas took first and second place respectively.

54 participants from Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK signed up for this edition of the Potjesregatta. “This was a technically challenging race with minimal northeasterly winds, but we are counting on the wind gods to be more in our favor during the upcoming European Championships on September 30,” said Jan Leye, chairman of the RSYC (Royal Sand Yacht Club).

Started early

Henri Demuysere (57) from RSYC was not ready for his exams. Like the rest of his family, he developed a passion for sailing from an early age, thanks to the inspiring example of his father Robert, the driving force behind sailing yacht racing. “Both myself and my brothers Pascal and Yann started sailing when we were about eight years old. You gradually learn to feel everything very well. Today, our advantage was that we had bigger sails because there was only a light breeze. You should then have a good understanding of where the wind is blowing. In this case, the technical aspect is more important than the physical aspect.”

“They sometimes call us ‘Demuysere Dynasty’ or ‘Sailing car Planckaerts’”

Henri’s ‘Fingerspitzengefühl’ earned him first place in class 2. Son Lucas (20) from sailing club De Krab’, performed well and finished in second place, following in his father’s footsteps. Yann Demuysere (52) commented with a laugh: “With Lucas, my son Jirko (14) and Katoo (31) (daughter of our brother Pascal), we are talking about three generations of Demuysere active in motorsport. They sometimes call us the ‘Demuysere Dynasty’ or the ‘Planckaerts sailing car racing’, because all three generations have participated in European Championships. However, it’s not just competition that counts. It is also a ‘friendly sport’ where we exchange experiences with each other. I have been going with the Irish for 12 years!”

EC is getting closer

Graeme Grant from Ireland and Laura Garcia from Spain, who signed up for the Standard class at Potjesregatta, can confirm this. “Yeah, we always have fun”, assures Graeme, who has also signed up for the upcoming European Championships in De Panne. Yann even has predictions for the top 3 in his head: there will definitely be a Belgian, then also an Irishman and a Frenchman!”