On a gorgeous, misty, muddy Essex morning, Alex Smith heads for the new waterfront premises at IBS International for a look at the Valiant 620 Cruiser.

It's a great pleasure visiting IBS International’s new headquarters at North Fambridge in Essex. For a start, it ticks all the right boxes from a practical perspective. It has a slipway, a storage yard, a workshop and a pub virtually on site, plus a small, friendly marina just a hundred yards upstream and access to its own pontoons, accessible at the lowest of low water springs. But the real appeal consists not in practicalities like these but in the fact that this place is about as perfect a slice of estuary Essex as you are likely to see.

When I arrive at about 0730, the tide is out - extremely out, in a way that only Essex seems to manage, exposing huge, heavy beds of east coast mud. A mist hangs low and thick and a pale sun glows weakly through the haze. Gulls and wading birds are already wandering around quietly, as if nursing hangovers and the silence of the place is palpable, with not the slightest noise either from people or traffic. In fact the only sound is a gentle lick as the water begins to flood the Crouch and bury the mud once more. I’m about two hours early for my appointment with the Valiant V620 but nothing could suit me better than just sitting on the wall, wrapped up warm, watching the water rise and waiting for the arrival of the day . . .