There are two schools of thought about dinghy cruising. There are those who believe in roughing it: they improvise a cover from a scrap of sail, sleep in their clothes in two inches of bilge water and rise before dawn to catch the tide, without any breakfast. Then there is the crew of Baggywrinkle.

Baggywrinklers are committed to luxurious living: or as close as they can get to it in twelve feet. No matter how early the morning tide: they always have breakfast first. Baggywrinklers believe that a boat sails on its crews’ stomachs, and they have yet to discover an anchorage that is not improved by half a bottle of red wine. But for a long time the secrets of Baggywrinkle’s galley box were known only to those few lucky, lucky people who have shipped aboard her. Now though, exclusively for readers of the Dinghy Cruising Association Bulletin, we can print these hot tips from that epicentre of Epicurean excellence: Chez Baggywrinkle.

L’artillerie de cuisine

On land they have a batterie de cuisine. At sea we need something more potent. Chez Baggywrinkle’s compact armoury of efficient implements: stove, pans, cutlery, crockery and even the hurricane lamp, fits inside a single plywood galley box, which itself stows snugly beside the centreboard case. A matching box holds all the food, and stows on the other side. Both boxes measure only 23cm wide, 25cm high and 41cm long. The lids simply drop on the top of the boxes, and have a deep skirt all round to keep out the spray. From these compact containers come forth wonders.

The Chef works his magic on a single burner Alpine gas stove — one of those where the cylinder is separated from the burner by a length of hose, so that the burner has a nice low centre of gravity. The stove clips inside the upturned lid of the galley box, where it is held firm and stable. On exposed anchorages three aluminium tent pegs can be fitted into holes in the wooden lid, forming fiddles around the stove to keep the pan in place, but they are rarely required since Baggywrinkle stopped going on North-west rallies. For cooking pots we have two stainless steel camping sauce pans, a lid-cum-fry pan, and a small aluminium camp kettle. All these implements nest comfily together.

A sailor is only as sharp as his knife: a cook, doubly so. The only knives that hold their edge are of carbon (not stainless) steel, and by far the best for boat use are the French Opinel folding knifes, which have a wooden handle and a blade that locks by turning a little collar: the Skipper is so impressed he even uses one as his pocket knife at sea. The Chef’s knife has a 10cm blade, which is about as small as you can get away with for serious cooking afloat. His chopping board is the small Microban version, obtainable in the bigger Sainsbury’s, and the Chef also swears by the Microban range of airtight containers to stow food. Unless it is vacuum packed, he recommends decanting food out of its original packaging into containers before it is shipped aboard, as it reduces the amount of gash to be disposed of afloat.

A wooden spoon and a wooden spatula are vital, but neglected elements in the galley armoury, as is a small pepper mill for black pepper. The plastic ones wear better afloat — but do make sure the mechanism is stainless steel, or you will eat fine ground rust with your supper. The Chef keeps his salt in a small airtight plastic jar, and insists on crystals of sea salt — which he claims not only tastes better, but is healthier than the normal kind.

The Galley Gourmet

The Chef always used to maintain that no meal should take more than twenty minutes to prepare. He has got more impatient with age, and now aims for five. The reduction in time came from the banishment of the potato from his menu. “Needs too much gas,” he says dismissively. These days the Chef mostly uses pasta as his base carbohydrate, and he always uses fresh rather than dried, as it cooks almost instantly when flung into boiling water. His rule of thumb is that as soon as the water has returned to boiling point after the addition of the cold pasta, it is done. Fresh pasta can be bought from any decent supermarket, and keeps for about 4 days. It is also far nicer than the dried stuff — which is only for long voyages out of sight of shops. The Chef likes penne, fusilli or farfalle, rather than spaghetti, as they come in handy bite-sized pieces. He has a tendency to go for verdi rather than the plain if he can — but then he is a bit of a snob.

Bread takes up a lot of space in the food locker and does not keep, so some Philistines recommend Ryvita instead. “Half the nutritional value of cardboard and less tasty,” says the Chef. He always uses wholemeal pitta bread, (available pretty much anywhere these days). As it is unleavened it is far more compact than a slice of western bread; it can be slit open to provide a pocket for a sandwich filling, keeps for a week, no trouble, and has enough tensile strength to withstand one handed eating when helming. “Pittas: the best invention since the centreboard!” says the Skipper.

Fresh water is always a precious commodity afloat, particularly with only twelve feet to put it in. On Baggywrinkle any that is left over from boiling pasta, rice or vegetables is not wasted, but kept for washing up. This is the main use of the second saucepan: surplus hot water is decanted into it and kept for later. As almost invariably the pan lid will be in use at the time as a cooking vessel, the spatula is used to hold the contents of the pan back when draining out the water.

The Chef’s favourite ingredients are compact, nutritious and tasty, and his special favourites find their way into many of his dishes, as will be seen in the menus that follow. Shopping for provisions has thus become a routine matter which he can safely delegate to sundry fo’c’sle hands, while he deals with the important business of stocking the bar. He insisted we note down a few key staple ingredients.

Olive oil. The real thing. Keep it in the small glass bottle you bought it in.

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Not the dried stuff: “Tastes like dandruff,” he says. Buy a slab, grate it at home on the coarse side of the grater, and keep it in a plastic jar. This cheese seems expensive, but a little goes a long way.

Fresh spinach and ricotta tortelloni. Obtainable in sealed 250g packets from Sainsbury’s, etc. One pack is good for two, rather too filling for one.

Freshly cut chorizo (or other salami). Salami keeps virtually for ever, is wonderfully tasty, and can be used in sandwiches or in dishes, as below. Obtainable from the deli counter.

A head of garlic. Why don’t the British think they like garlic? Add it to a dish without telling them, and they love it. “The best seasoning in the world,” says the Chef, “but cloves of garlic should always be crushed the French way, under the side of the kitchen knife, not in a garlic crusher.”

Here then are a few choice evening meal menus from the Baggywrinkle Cook Book. Quantities are for one or two people. Life is too short to halve something as small as a tin of anchovies, so one person cooking means a rather more generous sauce-t- pasta ratio than two. The method of cooking is very similar in most of the dishes, but is only described in full for the first one.

The anchovy and pasta dish

One small tin of anchovies in oil One small tin of tuna, in brine Fresh pasta Parmesan cheese

Decant the anchovies and their oil into the sauce pan lid. Break up the fish with the wooden spoon to create a lumpy paste. Add a bit of olive oil if it looks rather dry. Fling in the tuna and heat up, stirring all the time. Then set it to one side safely in the upturned lid of the galley box while you grab the other sauce pan to boil the water for the pasta. Keep the anchovy and tuna sauce hot by using the lid it is in as the lid of the pasta pan, while the water heats up. Once the water has boiled, add some salt to the water and fling in the pasta. When it comes back to the boil again, drain the water away into the other sauce pan. Add the sauce to the pasta. Grate in about ten turns of black pepper. Do not add salt. Put the mixture over a low heat, stirring all the time, until the sauce has heated back up again and is mixed nicely with the pasta (20 seconds or so). Turn out onto plates, and ladle Parmesan cheese onto the top. Eat with pitta bread.

The tortelloni and chorizo dish

Chorizo, say 6 slices per person, halved Spinach and ricotta tortelloni Parmesan

Put the chorizo and some oil in the sauce pan lid. Heat it up gently. Then boil water for pasta in a sauce pan (keeping the chorizo warm in the lid as the previous recipe). Add the pasta to the water. When it comes back to the boil and the pasta floats to the surface, immediately drain. Chuck the chorizo in with it. Add a little black pepper. Gently stir together. Serve with Parmesan. A remarkably effective and swift dish.

Pesto

A small jar of Pesto (available from delis) Pasta

Cook the pasta as before. Drain. Stir in a tablespoon or so of Pesto per person and lots of ground pepper. Serve with pitta bread. The fastest dish in the world.

The prostitute’s dish (Fusilli alia Puttanesca)

This is a proper Italian dish from Naples, traditionally served with spaghetti. It takes a little longer than the Chef’s ideal time, but it is so luscious he cooks it anyway.

Small jar of capers 1 clove of garlic per person (essential) Small can of anchovies, in oil Pitted black olives (say 10 per person, as we like ‘em) 2 fresh tomatoes per person (or half a tin per person) Pasta

Chuck the can of anchovies into the sauce pan lid with the crushed, finely cut garlic. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to the oil from the anchovy can, then cook until the garlic just begins to brown. Fling in about a dessert spoon of drained capers per person, as well as the olives cut into halves and the tomatoes cut into quarters. Add plenty of pepper, but no salt. Ideally simmer for 15 minutes or so. Then cook the pasta, keeping the anchovy and tomato sauce warm in the lid of the pasta pan as above. Fling the sauce in with the cooked, drained pasta and heat through. Serve. Eat as it is, with pittas to soak up the left over juice. Wonderful!

More secrets from Chez Baggywrinkle in the next Bulletin…