THE 2017 Bere Ferrers Watersports was staged over the weekend, attracting large audiences for both the games in the afternoon and for the live music in the evening.

The games involved a series of challenges for the two participating teams, initially in the mud with later games being water-based as the tide came in. The ‘Maristowcrats’ team was clearly very experienced with a good local knowledge, and the ‘Red Rockets’ was made up of cadet members from Weir Quay Sailing Club.

The Maristowcrats or ‘Oldies’ as they became known, took an early lead but the Red Rockets fought back with a single point separating the two teams as they went into the final event. This was a new challenge for the games and involved raft building. The teams had 30 minutes to build a raft and then test it over a given course.

The Oldies showed their experience and came home as the winners, whilst the Red Rockets struggled to stay on their raft. Team members and the large numbers of spectators clearly enjoyed the whole event.

The crabbing competition proved as popular as ever with over 60 youngsters participating in the event. In the under six year age group, Lachlan Slane was the winner with seven crabs. Amelie Alden won in the six to eight age range with an impressive 50 crabs.

Elaine Alden won the eight to ten year age range with 38 crabs and Alice Burrell winning in the ten to 12 years age range with 18 crabs. Alex Neal won the largest crab caught competition with a 2.9” crab. All crabs were safely returned to the water after the count and measurements.

In the evening the audience enjoyed the music of local performers and the newly formed ‘Caberats’ rounding off a wonderful day for local people and visitors. Pictures by James Bird.