The Bequia Regatta shore activities had always been entertaining, but when the Crazy Craft Race was introduced the word “fun” took on a whole new meaning! Peter “Fixman” and Marianne “Why Not” were in charge of the race, and threw their quirky sense of humour into the event. The rules were simple; entrants had to race in a home-made vessel from a starting point to a finishing line at Lower Bay, and do so without the help of motors or paddles, and a swimmer pushing the craft from behind wasn’t allowed! This seemed easy enough until you tried to build and propel such a craft, which Vanessa and Rachel learned to their chagrin when they entered their creation in the race.
Their first crazy craft was named the C.C. Drought, and was built over a period of time in our living room and then on the front porch. Due to the fact that Bequia was experiencing a severe drought, there were a lot of plastic water bottles on the island; they had become a necessity when the cisterns ran dry, and the girls collected the empties from bars and restaurants to use as a means of flotation. The water bottles were tied together securely with twine to form a raft, on top of which an old piece of marine ply was placed. They made a sail with old bedsheets and attached it to a lightweight, curved mast, and once a rudder of sorts was assembled their crazy craft was ready. They painted “C.C. Drought” on the sail, and with some difficulty we got their creation from the house down to Lower Bay Beach.
One of the teachers from the Convent School (Meredith Bertram) was visiting us over the Easter week-end, and was invited to race with the girls. Bret Berlinghof, who had helped build the crazy craft, was also a crew member, and would be manning the rudder. With great fanfare mixed with apprehension the vessel was launched, and to our relief it floated nicely thanks to the buoyant raft under the plywood. I laughed as the crew tied empty water bottles around their arms to serve as personal flotation devices, it was a fun finishing touch before the big competition.
There were a lot of weird and wonderful creations competing, and we took a peek at the other vessels before the race began. Peter and Marianne would be judging the event, and were busy taking notes while the entrants readied their crazy crafts in the sea. Mass confusion reigned as those whose vessels didn’t seem to float properly tried to make last-minute repairs, but that was all part of the fun!
Alas, the horn to start the race blew at about the same time the wind cut, and the C.C. Drought, although a fine sailing vessel, was becalmed. With nary a breath of wind to fill her sail she struggled valiantly, but was unable to gather enough momentum to place in the crazy craft race. The lack of wind made the antics of the event’s participants hilarious, and those of us on shore laughed our heads off as we screamed encouragement to those trying to get to the finish line. Brady and Colin Weston had built a canoe for the race which sank before crossing the finish line and I felt sorry for them, but laughed with the rest of the spectators once I saw that the boys were unharmed.
The Crazy Craft Race was fine entertainment for all ages, and so much fun for those who participated – it was a really good addition to the Regatta’s shore activities. Vanessa, Rachel and Bret (plus other assorted friends) had worked hard on their sailing raft, and vowed that a lack of wind was not going to be a factor next time around! They were already planning their craft for next year’s event…….
