Anything That Floats

Saturday the 28^th February marked the day of the annual ‘Anything That Floats’ competition. Held at Lüderitz Yacht Club the event was a chance for the nautically inclined members of the community to come together and show off their bizarre floating contraptions.

THE RULES

The premise behind the event was simple; contestants had to create a boat, of other floating vessel, out of anything they can find. They then completed a short course around a buoy and back under the pressure of time. Courses varied in size for the child and adult races and each boat needed to be completely out of the water in order for the race to finish (no mean feat for those contestants whose boats disintegrated into several pieces during the heat of the race).

Although the races were all very entertaining (particularly the compulsory beer drinking of the adult competition which resulted in some watery mishaps) it was the boats themselves that stole the show. Made from every sort of floating material you can think of, ranging from vast lumps of polystyrene (this years most popular choice) to an inflatable mattress (simple yet effective) and coming in all shapes and sizes each boat said a lot about its crew; homemade flags suggested ingenuity and creative flair, inflated inner tyres suggested engineering prowess and beer filled hats suggested…well an accident just waiting to happen!

Prizes were given for contestants who completed their course in the shortest time possible (both in the adult and child heats) and for the most inventive boat design.