Rocquaine Regatta ready to make a splash this weekend

Rocquaine Regatta president Jon Collenette said the event would be, as always, free.

‘Following the amazing success of last year’s event, the committee have been busy preparing for another amazing day at the beach packed with all your favourite events from years gone by, as well as the newer activities that everyone enjoyed so much last time round,’ he said.

‘The massed start raft race will, as usual, be one of the central features of the regatta and we welcome all entrants to this extraordinary event.

‘Get together your crew, construct a seaworthy vessel and bring it down to the Fort Grey slipway in advance of the start.’

The rafts need to be sturdy enough to withstand a crossing from the fort to the beach below the Imperial and, for safety reasons, all crew must be over 12 years old and an adult needs to be on board if there are any crew members under 16. All crew must be competent swimmers.

The race is scheduled to start at 1.30pm.

‘The talent competition will be a bigger feature than in previous years and we’re looking for new competitors to come along and take part,’ Mr Collenette said.

‘If you want to find out more, you can get in touch with us via the Rocquaine Regatta FaceBook page or email us – RocquaineRegatta@gmail.com.’

Sandcastle Rollerball has also been a feature of the regatta for many years.

‘We’re taking the opportunity to highlight it this year to increase the size of the field,’ said Mr Collenette.

‘Put simply, you and your team build a large pyramid of sand and create a channel from the top to the bottom along which a tennis ball is rolled.

‘The structure in which the ball takes the longest to travel to the bottom is the winner.’

Crab pot pulling and pallet smashing will be back again, after proving to be hugely popular last summer.

‘Naturally we’ll have the boating and rowing events, loads of activity on the coast road and around the main stage; beach events such as sandcastle competitions and greasy pole; beach races of all sorts; five-a-side football; throwing events as well as beach bike, stilt and chariot races and many, many more events besides,’ Mr Collenette said.

Islanders are encouraged to join the Friends of the Regatta to support to the event.

n Applications can be made through the regatta Facebook page or by filling out the form on the back of the programme, which will soon be distributed all over the island.