Hot Toddy 2024

Published 00:00 on 18 Nov 2024

Matt Bodner reports on the 2024 edition, of the legendary LCSC Hot Toddy event.

The Corinthians took Cowes by storm last weekend for the annual multi-discipline "Hot Toddy" event. With the brave crew of C'est Si Bon in the vanguard, a fleet of 11 Corinthians vessels conducted a timed passage to the Isle of Wight under challenging conditions there was, quite simply, no wind. All good Corinthians prefer 40 knots to zero.

So it was a motorpassage. Traditionally, Hot Toddy passages are run with a penalty of 90 seconds added to every minute under engine. But no Hot Toddy has ever faced such a complete void of external force. Passage Committee Chief Neil Cox wisely altered the rules on the eve of the event to apply a 4 minute penalty to every minute under engine.

Undaunted, the tactical savants Victor Wu and Antti Saviluoto of C'est Si Bon devised a novel formula: if the boat's speed over ground ever drops below 1.5 knots, kick on the engine and run it until it feels ridiculous. This strategy differed greatly from that taken by Dartagnan, under the command of Bill Stock, who chose to motor the entire course for line honors.

This strategy likewise differed from that of Femme Fatale, under the command of known Fastnet radicalist James Albery, who never turned his motor on at all. While the crew of C'est Si Bon sat down in the Duke of York to discuss legal pathways to victory, Femme Fatale had yet to pass the first mark on the course. Albery conceded 30 minutes later after rounding the first mark.

In the interest of brevity, it is sufficient to say that C'est Si Bon, under the command of dime store skipper Matt Bodner, was the true winner of the Hot Toddy timed passage. Oarsome Dream, under the command of Alex Higginson, was the official winner (in the writer's opinion).

Femme Fatale eventually made it to Cowes, and the real event finally could begin. Themes this year were diverse, from a galaxy far far away to the jungle, with a stop in Mar-A-Lago in between. To name just a few. Best Toddy went to the Bavarian themed Petruchio, they threw the best Octoberfest anyone has ever seen in the month of November.

After the party came the after party at the Island club, where at least 30% of the fleet worked up the courage to dance. Curiously, the band opened up with a banging cover of Back in the USSR, which drew the crew of C'est Si Bon to the dancefloor. After the after-party came the after-after party back in the marina.

Party boat duty fell upon the noble crew of C'est Si Bon, who failed to repel the boarders. The rest is lost to history.

Last updated 16:14 on 9 December 2024