One of the most quirky, tiny and downright fun little boats is the West Wight Potter. Only England, home of three wheeled cars, funny hats on cops, and an eccentric monarchy, could come up with such a design. Actually the designer was from Nova Scotia. The boat has been built since 1949, first on the Isle of Wight, and now in Inglewood, California, to be shipped back to Great Britain and the world.

Of all the little trailer boats it seems like the Potter has been sailed the most sea miles by their crazy owners. They've crossed the Atlantic and cruised the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. In 2002 Bill Teplow sailed his 19-ft Potter Chubby from Berkeley to Hawaii and back - with an Alaska cruise thrown in. The other long distance sails have been in the 15-ft version. That's about the size of a Laser.

One of the more active ‘user groups’ is the Potter Yachters in Northern California. We see them frequently sailing along just fine in the notorious San Francisco ‘Slot’, but the boats were destined to be one of the best Delta gunk-holers around. Don't worry about the depth - they only draw inches. And that bash back home to the fog and cold? Stick it on the trailer and tow it behind the Mini.

The Potter Yachters, which includes about 10% other trailerable 14 to 23-ft shallow-draft sailboats, hosted a sail-in the Fourth of July weekend in the Delta. They planned to meet near the tip of Mandeville Island to watch Barron Hilton's annual fireworks celebration.

Potter 15 fleet captain Don Person reports: “Three boats, a Potter 19, Wee Boat, Dave and Cheryl White; a SunCat 17, Muddy Duck, Dick Herman; and a Vagabond 17, Mosey, Brad Evans, launched and sailed from B&W Marina on the Mokelumne River Friday morning. After lunch at Korth's Pirates’ Lair, where the Moke meets the San Joaquin, they sailed to a spot 300 yards southeast of Mandeville Tip on Middle River.

“Saturday morning two more Potter 15s, ESP, Rob Sampson, and Stars and Bars, Steve Potter, sailed down from B&W Marina. A third, Sarah Anne, Don Person and Marthe Dalton, sailed up from Tiki Lagun. It was a fast downwind sail from B&W and those boats arrived about noon. The P15 from Tiki Lagun was close hauled after reaching the Stockton ship channel at Lost isle and did a lot of tacking from then on as the wind was on her nose. About a mile east of Mandeville Island the breeze was building and she was taking a little water over the gunnel on each tack, so the lapper was dropped and she finished the trip sailing on the main, which worked quite well. She arrived around 3:00. Also coming up from Tiki Lagun was Andrew and Maxine Lees' 38-ft houseboat, The Usual Suspects, which served as a mother ship.

“After a houseboat breakfast Sunday morning we headed back to our launching sites. Those going north motored as it was pretty breezy and choppy upwind in the ship channel, but the P15 sail downwind on Middle River and back to Tiki Lagun was a real treat.” They had more fun with small things than most had with their big toys.

To learn more you must go through a lot of blogs and websites. Here are just a small handful:

www.westwightpotter.com/company/history.htm

http://potter-yachters.org/stories/teplow_to_hawaii.htm

www.nwpotters.org/2004trips/HoweSound2004/TripLog.htm

http://potter-yachters.org

www.howies.net/socalpotter

The next big event on the Potters’ NorCal schedule is the Cruiser Challenge, a laid-back regatta hosted by Monterey Peninsula YC on July 25-26. This is their biggest event of the year, and they expect 40-50 boats. All trailer-sailors are welcome.