Burnham-on-Crouch

The conversation flowed as we assembled around the long table in the beautiful dark green dining room at the Yacht Club in Burnham-on-Crouch for the East Coast End of Season Dinner.

There were 22 of us, swapping stories of a summer spent on the water whenever possible despite the often challenging weather conditions we had experienced this summer. Three boats had managed to sail to Burnham for the rally; Demeter from the Orwell, Hard Seed from the Medway and Teka from the Blackwater, the rest of us opting to come by car.

We had gathered from all around the East Coast, from boats moored in the Orwell, the Medway, the Deben, the Crouch and the Blackwater, to celebrate our achievements and put the boats to bed in style. We were joined by our Commodore, David Roache, and his wife Gill, and it was good to see Val Birch again, unfortunately minus Mike who is still half-way around the world.

The smoked salmon starter, followed by roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, roasted root vegetables and gravy were dispatched promptly and we came to the high spot of the evening - The Cocktail Competition! Each boat submitted a cocktail, which we all judged, the criteria being appearance, taste, name and reason why it should be adopted as the East Coast Cocktail.

The judging took rather a long time as we jostled with straws at the ready, trying to guess the ingredients. We then settled down to a delicious chocolate pudding while scores were added up and we were regaled with the reasons why we should adopt each cocktail. It was a close call between Man Overboard (Teka / Iain & Tina), Kentish Knocker (Hard Seed / Jonathan Hague & Crew) and Isolated Hazard (Goldie / Norman & Natalie Nathan) but by a close margin Isolated Hazard was eventually declared the winner.

It was a lovely evening and a fitting culmination to our exertions of the summer. We had participated in rallies to West Mersea, Calais, the Orwell, the Deben, the Walton Backwaters and the Swale as well as the ever-popular Holland Rally and the London Thames Festival and thanks must go to Anne Malcolm, Norman Hummerstone, Pat Dittner, Bill Hughes, Geoff Quentin and Jonathan Hague, who all took the time and trouble to organise us.

Recipes for those adventurous enough

Isolated Hazard

4 parts vodka
2 parts fresh lemon juice
2 parts cinnamon syrup
Crushed strawberry
Whole strawberry
2 black grapes

Put all ingredients except grapes and whole strawberry in shaker and shake. Put both black grapes on one end of swizzle stick (isolated hazard marker). Put whole strawberry on the other end (hazard). Pour the cocktail into glasses and insert stick.

Man Overboard

Grate fresh ginger
Combine with juice half lemon and teaspoon honey in a whisky tumbler
Add finger of whisky and finger of boiling water
Top up with ginger wine
Stir till honey dissolved, put in microwave for 30 seconds, serve with a twist of lemon (if a microwave is not available, can heat up ginger wine first)

The Kentish Knocker

Take one estuary ( a Glass)
Add a layer of soft mud (crushed ice)
Insert one sandbank (half a Mars Bar)
Add the sea (Lemonade, Port & Gin in quantities to obtain the required colour of the sea or to the required taste)
Add one LSC boat ( a slice of orange)
As the tide falls add the prescribed day shapes (three black olives or cherries).

NB: If consumed during the hours of darkness the olives/cherries should be replaced by two all round red lights!