Ostend Classic Boat Rally (31-5-2010) The Belgians do it differently; not for them the rigorous organisation of Brest or the overwhelming cuteness of Douarnenez. The Belgians just take an old tide-less dock in the city centre, tell the white plastic residents to go somewhere else for the weekend, fill it full of hundreds of traditional boats from all over Europe and then let an admiring public roam all over the pontoons. They don’t even charge an entry fee, just an informal agreement on the part of the boat owners to be on hand to talk about their boats to the visitors. And there are thousands of visitors, shuffling patiently along the pontoons in a one-way procession, inquisitive but polite in a very understated, almost British, manner; except I could never imagine a British insurance company underwriting an event where the public are allowed to walk along unprotected and unstable pontoons. Unlike the French, the Belgians don’t charge for admission, so goodness knows how they make their money – just by the extra sales of frites and beer, I suppose. This year, Colin Stroud and Plum joined a small flotilla of east coast gaffers at the event; we hope the pictures give a flavour of the atmosphere of Oostende voor Anker. Bernard Patrick