11:40am Wednesday 3rd September 2008
By Emma Goodfellow
It's a simple concept but no less enjoyable for that fact - build your foundations and then wait for the tide to come in. That was the fun enjoyed by dozens of children and adults at the 30th Lions Tide Race at Portreath.
A total of 35 teams from across the age range - including a record number of adults - took part in this year's event, organised as always by the Camborne, Redruth and District Lions Club.
Alan Hampton, from the Lions club, said: "We had a fantastic day for our 30th Tide Race. The tide came in and not out - that was a good start!"
The day dawned cloudy, with light breezes, but by the afternoon the sun had started to shine.
The object of the event was for teams to build a large sandcastle that they then had to stand on as soon as the tide reached them. The team that stayed on their sandcastle for the longest before it became washed away was declared the winner.
There were four categories for the different age groups and sexes. The children's class was won by Nippers Flippers of Camborne and the teenagers' class by Botch Jobs from Redruth. The Portreath Chicks from Portreath Surf Club won the ladies' class and Supersix from Portreath won the adult class.
The Lions were once again on the beach early, setting up their tented village at 8.30am from where they sold second-hand books and videos. A beach raffle contributed to the day's record takings of £500, with all profits going to the Lions' charity fund.
There was one mishap when a woman lost her wedding ring while on the beach. However, the ring has now been found and is in the care of Ken Taylor at the Beach Cafe.
Sponsors for the event were Watson Marrlow in Falmouth, C&R Plastics in Camborne, and the The Beach Cafe, Bassett Arms, Portreath Arms and Bridge Inn at Portreath.
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