Cruising Evening
The heady smell of a rich creamy blue cheese, the wiff of garlic plus the gentle splash of waves against the hull of a boat; no, this was not Deauville but the club Saturday evening.
This was France without the twelve hour journey.
Commodore and Vice Commodore hosted the annual cruising evening which encourages people to cross the Channel into an evening of "why bother, when it's better here"; treated the throng to a display of Oyster opening and then shared them out before Peter and Alison in the galley provided a meal that would have put any restaurant across "La Manche" to shame. An endless supply of moules and frites with French bread was followed up with a platter of classic French cheeses washed down with coffee.
The Barlows performed miracles as 26 had booked to eat whereas 42 sat down to dine; no one went hungry.
Afterwards video and picture slideshows of members' cruising exploits from last year were viewed and a great deal of discussion entailed. A cracking video taken by Peter Raynor on his 23 foot Pandora "Tom Thumb" documenting his trip across the Channel to Le Havre, and his subsequent navigation up the Seine to Paris - singlehanded.
This was an evening that ticked all the boxes, great food, great company and the commitment from a great deal of us to go further this year.
Steve Dadd
Cruiser Class Captain
