Category Archives: Events

This is an event held by SOCA the sailing club based in Hertfordshire

2026 Laying Up Lunch

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Saturday 7th November 2026 at 1:00pm

A call to all members and supporters.
The 2026 Laying Up lunch will be at the Cowper Arms in Welwyn North.

This has become the regular location for such events since the 40th Anniversary Lunch.

If you wish to attend please email commodore@socasailing.org.uk to reserve your place.

The menu to choose from is shown below.

Can you please also select your food choices ASAP
as the meals have to be pre-ordered.

Starter £8.00 each taken from the
Cowper Arms Tapas/Starter List.

S01 Spiced Lamb Kofta Skewers
S02 BBQ Spare Ribs
S03 Breaded Chicken Mini Fillets & Lemon Mayonnaise
S04 “Wings of Fire” Hot Chicken Wings
S05  Hot & Sweet Chilli King Prawns
S06 Salt ‘N’ Pepper Squid & Thai Sweet Chili
S07 West Country Whitebait & Tartare Sauce
S08 Butterfly Crispy Breaded Prawns & Thai Sweet Chili sauce
S09  Battered Calamari Rings & Lemon Mayonnasie
S10 House Made Hummus & grilled Pita bread ( V or VE)
S11 Greek Salad & Pita bread (V, VEGAN available)
S12 Antipasta Olives & Grilled Pita bread (V, VEGAN available)
S13 Valencian Style Patatas Bravas (V)
S14 Breaded Mozzarella Sticks & Tomoao Salsa (V)
S15 Crispy Breaded Garlic Mushrooms & Lemon Mayonnaise (V)
S16 Stuffed Jalapeno Cream Cheese Bombers (V)
S17 Honey Glazed Halloumi Fries (V)
S18 Breaded Brie & Cranberry Sauce (V)
S19 Garlic and Parsley Button Mushrooms (V, VEGAN available)

                    

Main Courses

                              

COWPER CLASSICS

                            

M1 OUR FAMOUS FISH & CHIPS – Tartare Sauce – Garden or Mushy Peas £19 (£10)
M2 BREADED SCAMPI– Tartare Sauce – Skinny OR Chunky Chips– Salad £17 (£10)
M3 PIE OF THE DAY – Mash Potato OR Chunky Chips– Red Wine gravy  – Market Greens £17
M4 LAMBS LIVER & BACON – Market Greens- Mash -Red Wine gravy £18
M5 STEAK & KIDNEY PUDDING – Seasonal Vegatables – Red Wine Gravy £16
M6 PORK SAUSAGES, Mash, Peas & Red Wine Gravy, Crispy Onions  £16 (£10)
M7 BEEF & MUSHROOM STROGANOFF-Steamed Rice-Garlic Ciabatta-Side Salad £19

                    

GRILL

                                

G1 10oz Sirloin Steak – Grilled Tomato – Mixed Salad – Chips OR Fries £34
G2 10oz Rump Steak – Grilled Beef Tomato – Mixed Salad – Chips OR Fries £25
G3  5oz Rump Steak – Grilled Beef Tomato – Mixed Salad – Chips OR Fries £16
G4 10oz Gammon Steak – Fried Egg – Grilled Pineapple – Chunky Chips OR Fries £16 (£9)
Peppercorn Sauce,  Red Wine Sauce, Bernaise Sauce, Mushroom Sauce (All £5.00)

G5 100% Pure Gourmet Beef Burger £17
G6 Marinated Grilled  Chicken Burger £16
G7 Vegetarian Meat Burger £19

(Burgers are served on Brioche Buns from Dolce Forso Bakery – Pickled Red Onion – Pickled Gherkin
– Burger Sauce – Shredded Lettuce – Tomato & Topped with Beer Battered Onion Rings )
Extra Burger Topping for £1.50 each
( Grilled Bacon –Cheddar Cheese – Swiss Cheese – Feta Cheese – French Brie – Pineapple
– Fried Onion – Fried Egg – Mushrooms – Jalapenos Peppers )

                  

Vegetarian & Vegan

                              

VE1 Mixed Bean Chilli – Rice – Spicy Salsa – tortilla Chips £16 (VE)
VE2 Vegan Pie of the Day – New Potatoes – Market Greens £16 (VE)
V3 Vegetable Lasagne – Garlic Ciabatta – House Salad £17 (£9) (V)
V4 Mushroom Stroganoff – Steamed Rice – Garlic Ciabatta – Side Salad £17 (V)

Price in Brackets are for dishes that are available as a modest sized portion.

                    

DESSERT MENU

                              

D1 Banana Bread – Custard OR Sorbet £8.50 (VE)
D2 Vegan Chocolate Tart – Raspberry Sorbet £8.50 (VE)
D3 Hot Belgian Waffle – Rich Caramel Sauce – Vanilla Ice Cream £8.50
D4 Eton Mess – Meringue – Mixed Berries – Cream – Ice Cream £8.50 (GF)
D5 Bramley Apple Pie – Warm Custard OR Pouring Cream £8.50
D6 Homemade Chocolate Brownie – Luxury Vanilla Bean Ice Cream £8.50
D7 Syrup Sponge Pudding – Warm Custard and Berry Compote £8.50 (GF)
D8 Sticky Toffee Pudding – Luxury Vanilla Bean Ice Cream £8.50
D9 Toffee and Honeycomb Cheesecake – Vanilla Ice Cream – Toffee Sauce £8.50
D10  Spotted Dick – Warm Custard OR Pouring Cream £8.50
D11 Ice Cream Selection – Vanilla, Chocolate OR Strawberry £2.50 each (GF)
D12 Sorbet Selection – Mango, Lemon OR Raspberry £3.00 each (VE)

                      

SOCA 2025 Fitting Out Lunch

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SOCA held it’s 2025 Fitting Out Lunch at the Cowper Arms on Saturday 29th March.
There was a very good attendance with 22 members attending the very convivial gathering. 

 

The Commodore, Terry,  took the opportunity to thank the attendees and outlined the plans for SOCA events over the coming year.

 

 

 

The outgoing Commodore also presented the Commodore’s Cup to Peter Sackett who could not attend the 2025 AGM where the cup was awarded to him.

 

 

The final action of the Fitting Out Lunch was for Geff to remind the attendees of his choices for the Commodore’s Charity for 2024-2025. It was decided to donate £400, £10 for every year of the 40 years SOCA had been in exsistence. This has been split evenly between the RNLI in recognition of it’s 200 year anniversary. With another £200 being presented to Grafham Water Sailability.
Geff presented a cheque to Pauline who is a long time SOCA member and key member of Grafham Water Sailabilty.

Laying Up Lunch Saturday 9th November 2024

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SOCA held its Laying Up Lunch at the Cowper Arms in Welwyn North.
Eighteen members were in attendance for a very enjoyable and convivial meal.

The autumn gathering followed the recent, successful, practice of holding the event at lunchtime rather than in the evening as this suits the majority of the members. In addition the Cowper Arms has the advantage of being very close to Welwyn North Station for those who wish to arrive by train.



This is the same location that SOCA held its 40th Anniversary Lunch earlier this year in April.

Presentation of SOCA Donations to RNLI.

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This event was scheduled so we could celebrate that  March 2024 was both the 200th anniversary of RNLI’s  formation and the 40th anniversary of SOCA being formed. The planned presentation on the RNLI had to be delayed to another time due to the presenter being ill, (he has offered to conduct his presentation at a later time). However in its place SOCA held a RNLI themed evening for its September meeting, including showing some videos available on the RNLI website  and a few group quizzes,

The main part of the evening was a presentation of a cheque to the Chairman of the RNLI Hitchin & District Branch of the RNLI, John Pearce.
The majority of the £260 that was donated was from donations from individual members with a top up from the Commodore’s charity fund.
After the actual cheque, (rather than the one in the picture) was handed over John gave a quick speech to the audience highlighting the difficulties that the local branches of the RNLI have had in recent years with falling numbers of people able to organise events that can be used for collecting donations. He made a plea for anyone who is interested and can help to contact him. (pearcej53@virginmedia.com).

‘Whoever we are, wherever we are from, we are one crew, ready to save lives. We’re powered by passion, talent and kindness, like generations of selfless lifesavers before us“

Mark Dowie 200th anniversary interview
Audio of RNLI previous Chief Executive Mark Dowie speaking about the RNLI’s 200th anniversary.

This page on the RNLI Website is worth a visit

Various videos were shown during the meeting. If you click on the images below you should be taken to the Youtube website where the video can be seen

RNLI_200th_Timeline_Film
200 years in 200 seconds, a brief history of the RNLI.
A video from 1924 The 100th Anniversary of the RNLI
Saved by a motor life-boat – Film made to celebrate the RNLI’s centenary in 1924. Featuring Whitby and Staithes & Runswick lifeboat stations. Youtube version.

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The Tradition of the Lifeboat Service – a cinema appeal
Archive footage – from the 1940s? – of the RNLI service. Includes launch footage from the Mumbles down a slipway, and the Robert and Ellen Robson at Whitby being drawn through the streets

A simple Refresher Quiz on the RNLI which you should get 10/10 if you have visited the RNLI website

1. How many times were lifeboats launched in 2010?

  1. 223
  2. 3,223
  3. 9,223
  4. 17,223

2. RNLI crew members are all …….

  1. fishermen
  2. men
  3. very tall
  4. volunteers

3. How many crew members are there in the RNLI?

  1. Over 500
  2. Over 5,000
  3. Over 50,000
  4. Over 5 million

4. Where are the RNLI Headquarters located?

  1. Blackpool
  2. Goole
  3. Liverpool
  4. Poole

5. The RNLI was founded by Sir William Hillary in which year?

  1. 1724
  2. 1824
  3. 1924
  4. 2004
  1. What is the person in charge of the lifeboat at sea called?
  1. Boat Boss
  2. Captain
  3. Coxswain
  4. Mechanic
  1. The RNLI`s newest class of lifeboat is called what?
  1. Severn
  2. Shannon
  3. Trent
  4. Tyne
  1. How many lives has the RNLI saved since its foundation?
  1. Over 1,400
  2. Over 14,000
  3. Over 140,000
  4. Over 1,400,000
  1. The RNLI`s purpose is to do what?
  1. Paint boats orange
  2. Recruit volunteers
  3. Rescue people
  4. Save lives at sea
  1. The RNLI have how many lifeboat stations around the coast?
  1. Over 20
  2. Over 200
  3. Over 2,000
  4. Over 20,000

This quiz was written by  Mr Adrian Boyd from the RNLI.

Answers for those who need them are posted here.

East Coast Cruising In Company (CIC) August 2024

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Four yachts from the extended SOCA fleet meet up at Levington marina on the river Orwell in August 2024. This was the CIC event that was originally planned for late May but was rescheduled due to other commitments.

The yachts involved were  Honfleur, Missbehaving, Skylark and Just Fleur.

 

Honfleur under sail

Just Fleur on the river Orwell

 

 

 

The crews of all 4 yachts meet at Lightship Bar, home of the Haven Ports Yacht Club, where a nourishing meal and a few drinks helped to generate a very convivial atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

All crew members present were looking forward to the next time we can all sail together.

Thursday 25th July Dingy Sailing & BBQ

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In the summer holidays SOCA normally organise a BBQ at a members house. This year it has been decided that we would instead join the BBQ and dingy sailing event being organised by at Paxton Lakes Sailing  Club, see report from Peter below.

BBQ/ Dinghy Sailing.
Our BBQ & Dingy Sailing , Paxton Lakes Sailing Club, Thursday , 25 July, enjoyed good weather and with some wind for our sailors.Very good turnout with SOCA Members, BOSG Members, Members children and grandchildren.  Lovely evening.  Simon ( Bob’s son) did a great job getting boats ready & packed away, BBQ organised and all the admin –  thank you again Simon.

Peter Sackett Commodore BOSG 2024

!!!!! SOCA was FORTY on the 8th March 2024 !!!!!

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SOCA held a celebration lunch on Saturday the 13th of April 2024
to mark the 40th Anniversary of its inception.
The event was held at the  Cowper Arms which is close to Welwyn North railway station.

This also served as the 2024 Fitting Out Lunch.

Over 50% of the commodores from SOCA’s history attended.
A full list of all the Commodores over SOCA’s existence is shown in our History section

A selection of other pictures from the event is shown below.

SOCA Burgees available at special price of £45

Also on sale at the lunch, at a special price of £45, were SOCA burgees the ideal addition to your Starboard spreader. These are still available. Contact commodore@socasailing.org.uk