Connecting the past with the present
Published on June 5th, 2024
by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt
For regattas with perpetual trophies, the plaques of past winners connect the past with the present. And when those trophies can be filled at the bar, well, those are the ones worth winning.
Maybe this comes from my ‘younger’ years when cored pineapples, filled with rum, orange juice, sprite, and straws, would make the rounds amongst friends. Drinking out of a perpetual is pretty sweet too.
Guy Nowell reports on how they connect with the past at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club:
Among the Club traditions is The Kettle which is noteworthy for the receptacle, not the contents. While anyone can ‘fill the kettle’, the contents become more or less public property. One bottle of Myers’ is generally considered to be a decent amount of rum as the drink of choice is typically a ‘DRC’ – Dark Rum and Coke.
The engraving on The Kettle reads:
The Tom Larmour Memorial Tea Kettle
A celebration of his life and times
1. Grasp rum bottle firmly by the neck and pour a liberal amount into the kettle.
2. Add one can of Coke per 1/3rd of rum.
3. Mix thoroughly, adding ice and lemon to taste.
4. Dispense into beverage container.
5. Raise said container and toast Tom’s memory.
6. Drink heartily.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 until you either you fall over or spouse drags you home.
Tom Larmour was a Club member who went to the assistance of two small boys in the surf during a typhoon. The boys survived. Tom didn’t.