Hundreds head west to enjoy Rocquaine Regatta
THE weather was better than feared, the crowds turned out, and once again the Rocquaine Regatta was the island’s best beach party of the year.
Strong winds forecast on Friday persuaded organisers to make an early decision to cancel raft racing, but the rest of Saturday’s 52nd regatta went ahead as planned, with hundreds enjoying family-friendly games and the occasional moment of gentle competition.
Wives were carried, husbands dragged, sandcastles built, courses run, crabpots pulled, frisbees thrown, stilts walked, and tug-of-war and five-a-side football played – among much else – before a BBQ and live music brought the event to a close.
‘The weather forecast might have put off a few people, but everyone is having a good time, and there’s a good crowd down here with the other things going on over the weekend,’ said organising committee vice-president Brian Staples, as he prepared the tug-of-war competition late in the afternoon.
The Cleal family took up the challenge of walking on stilts.
‘I have made about two or three steps.
‘It’s harder than it looks but good fun,’ said dad Giles.
His son, Digby, 10, persisted tenaciously and after much practice walked an impressive 17 steps.
‘It’s good fun to see if you can walk when you are much taller than you normally are. I have been here before but I have never walked on stilts before,’ said Digby.
The stilts took mum-of-four Lindsay de Sausmarez back to her childhood.
‘I made some of these when I was about eight years old. I was fine to walk with them when I was a kid, but my knees are not in quite the same condition today,’ she said.
‘Annoyingly one of our children has been able to walk with them, so now I’m feeling slightly competitive about it.’
