International Interest in Marine Reserve Event

There has been a huge response to the press release I sent out yesterday about a forthcoming event I will be running in conjunction with the Eyemouth Herring Queen Committee - Britain's first ever edible boat race! So far I have been contacted from Canada, France and the West Indies not to mention various British contacts.

The event will take place at 1pm on Wednesday 23rd July on Eyemouth Beach. The competition is open to all ages, and entrants are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild, using all their ingenuity to design and build their own boat. The vessels can be big or small, there�s no size limit, but they must be made entirely out of edible materials, including whatever holds the craft together. There will be two parts to the competition. Firstly, the vessels will be assessed as to the level of inventiveness used in their design and construction. Secondly, the craft will be judged on their seaworthiness, the winning boat being the one that stays afloat the longest.

Here's the story behind how this rather off-the-wall event has come into being.

Earlier this year the Herring Queen Committee approached me asking for advice on an idea they had had for an event for the festival - a paper boat release. Being proud of the high quality of the local marine environment, with the inshore waters being designated Scotland�s first Marine Reserve in 1984, they thought they would check to see what I thought of the event taking place in the Reserve.

I was really pleased that the Committee had thought laterally rather than just going for a balloon release, as these result in burst balloons littering our beaches and choking marine wildlife. However, I had reservations as paper only biodegrades in seawater very slowly, and I had visions of incoming tides of paper mache! So, it was my turn to think laterally, and that�s when I came up with the idea of an edible boat race.

I have put the word out with all my contacts around the country and as far as I am aware there has never been a boat race of this kind before. So we will be making history as well as having a bit of ecologically-friendly fun!