Dressing for Dinner

[dom]

The Irish one on the left was not very bright and struggled with his exams but took to sailing with scarcely any instruction. The dopy-looking one with glasses became a consultant gynaecologist and however hard I tried I could never get even the elements of sailing into him. The other one became a GP.

Lol! BTW - and I’ve noticed this before / was it a wooden boat moored in Salcombe? - your pictures are very good, not sure why but there’s something about them that makes one want to look again ?

 

[Robin]

Well, to be fair, I do take the apron off after cooking and before we sit down to eat.

I put my apron on as a bib..

 

[Laminar Flow]

I put my apron on as a bib..

Entirely proper, I'm sure.

A friend of mine bought an old Robert Clarke design, built in Holland in 1960. With it he inherited all the old ship's logs. The first owner, who had commissioned her, sailed her back to Vancouver, British Columbia. On the Atlantic crossing they would all dress up every evening for a formal sit-down dinner in the salon, wearing club tie, jacket and white ducks, except for the poor sod left to tend the helm, of course.

There were also various Mrs. So-and-soes who accompanied him on certain portions of the trip, but never an accompanying Mr. So-and-soes. Strange that.

 

[mjcoon]

I put my apron on as a bib..

Does it have a pocket to assist the recycling?

 

[johnalison]

Lol! BTW - and I’ve noticed this before / was it a wooden boat moored in Salcombe? - your pictures are very good, not sure why but there’s something about them that makes one want to look again ?

You are very kind but it was a Broads yacht, Summer Breeze, from Herbert Woods. The third berth was in the fo'csle tucked under the deck and could only be accessed via a deck hatch. By majority vote Terry was installed there. It was a splendid sailing boat but carried massive weather helm, which at least made tacking in narrow waters easier.

 

[Neeves]

The men particularly happy are they discussing their portfolios whilst their bored wives are thinking who is going to do the dishes

Its so much easier now that we all have dishwashers.

Jonathan

 

[jbweston]

There's a story, no doubt familiar to the old codgers amongst us of the man who phoned the RORC in St James's Place and asked them to send him a club tie . . .

Club office clerical person: 'Certainly Sir. Would you like silk or polyester?'
Member: 'I don't know. Which do you recommend?'
Club office clerical person: 'Polyester is better for starting your Seagull, but silk is better for holding up your trousers'.

Which of course was good advice. Polyester for strength and water resistance. Silk for giving a beautiful knot.

Younger readers will need to be informed that Seagull motors didn't have posh new-fangled recoil starter cords, but you had to wrap a cord with a knot in the end round the pulley on top, and it disconnected when you got to the end of the pull. Once the engine was running, jolly jokers among the crew would hide the starter cord or throw it out of the dinghy back onto the boat, effectively stranding the crew ashore once the engine was stopped. Unless of course you had a spare cord - or a neck tie.

 

[Robin]

Does it have a pocket to assist the recycling?

TWO!

 

[cherod]

The lady in orange has had far too much to drink... But then, she's in the "Saloon with L-shaped sofa convertible to double bed", so she should be OK.

And !!! She was on the upper deck with a different “ gentleman “ in the previous photo , mmm whats going on ?

 

[HissyFit]

At the risk of thread drift, I am shocked to see that the mobo is still wearing its ensign after sunset.

Perhaps they couldn't find the pith helmet and bugle to play the last post.

 

[MarkCX]

Now you’re just taking the pith!

 

[Jonny A]

I knew a chap who did a Fasnet where the entire crew put on DJs at the rock and all except the helm sat down to a champagne supper. Class.

 

[Neeves]

Why is there this undercurrent suggesting that spending time on a yacht should be an experience like camping (when you were 13 in the 60's or 70's)?

There is the occasional post about the 'death' of sailing and why can we not attract younger people, both male and female, to the activity. If the heights of culinary delight comprise of Fray Bentos tinned meat pies, baked beans and (cheap) sliced bread - I'm not surprised the sport may be dying. Does everyone now expect fish to come ready cleaned and wrapped in bread crumbs or do a few still know how to clean a haddock and dress (a crab) for dinner. And for those who do know how to prepare fresh crab (or lobster) - what better than decent chilled white wine out of real wine glasses.

Jonathan

 

[dulls]

I refer you to the scene below, from a 1986 Sadler 34 advert.

Do other members also feel that standards of dress for dining onboard have fallen rather drastically?

View attachment 98108

They will still have damp arses after coming over in the dinghy.

 

[dulls]

This is embarrassing. Three medical students in 1962 - drinking orange squash. At least we had a tablecloth, unlike the OP, and my mate Terry on the left is wearing a tie if you look carefully, and appears to be reading The Yachtsman's Weekend Book. Summer Breeze, from Potter Heigham.View attachment 98127

Is that the entrance to the for cabin or a mirror?

 

[PilotWolf]

You have to move in the right circles here!

Seeing the state of some of the uniformed crew at my last company was sad. Also when I was interviewed we had a group, individual and second group one - I was the only one wearing shirt and tie. There were some on board shorts, t shirts etc.

Even when I took my FAA Check rides I had shirt and tie on - there examine said it was nice that a future commercial pilot actually looked professional for a change.

W.

 

[HissyFit]

Why is there this undercurrent suggesting that spending time on a yacht should be an experience like camping (when you were 13 in the 60's or 70's)?

There is the occasional post about the 'death' of sailing and why can we not attract younger people, both male and female, to the activity. If the heights of culinary delight comprise of Fray Bentos tinned meat pies, baked beans and (cheap) sliced bread - I'm not surprised the sport may be dying. Does everyone now expect fish to come ready cleaned and wrapped in bread crumbs or do a few still know how to clean a haddock and dress (a crab) for dinner. And for those who do know how to prepare fresh crab (or lobster) - what better than decent chilled white wine out of real wine glasses.

Jonathan

Perhaps advertising like this is what creates the impression amongst the general population that boating is for posh knobs. Maybe the posh knobs are put off because of those of us who resort to Fray Bentos.

 

[johnalison]

Although we didn't dress for the occasion, we did establish a tradition of having a 'traditional roast' dinner on club cruises after a couple of weeks of eating foreign muck. Foraging parties would be sent out in the morning and they would return with approximations to the necessary ingredients and in the evening a three-course meal with roast horse, yak or whatever it was, roast potatoes and the rest was dished up from the combined galleys of two or three boats. Since it was invariably the hottest day of the year in the cabin of our 29/29 ft boats with six to eight bodies crammed in, we were skimpily dressed at best but it was worth it for the reminder of home comforts.

 

[sgr143]

Having enjoyed this thread, It now occurs to me that it would be a bit of a lark to designate a trip as a dressing-for-dinner one; next summer, when the light and warmth will persist a bit longer than what's left of the season now, so we can do this in the cockpit, for the edification of all. Table cloth, candles, decent wine glasses (decent wine is a given), and a three-course meal planned out in advance. And some "Oh, you are spoiling us, ambassador" chocolates. I'll pack my DJ (Oxfam, 20 years ago, somewhat bloodstained, but we won't go into that), and herself can pack a posh outfit, Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think it would enliven an evening in Bembridge or similar - let's call it a plan!

 

[HissyFit]

Having enjoyed this thread, It now occurs to be that it would be a bit of a lark to designate a trip as a dressing-for-dinner one; next summer, when the light and warmth will persist a bit longer than what's left of the season now, so we can do this in the cockpit, for the edification of all. Table cloth, candles, decent wine glasses (decent wine is a given), and a three-course meal planned out in advance. And some "Oh, you are spoiling us, ambassador" chocolates. I'll pack my DJ (Oxfam, 20 years ago, somewhat bloodstained, but we won't go into that), and herself can pack a posh outfit, Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think it would enliven an evening in Bembridge or similar - let's call it a plan!

Hire a string quartet to play background music from the pontoon.