Boat Racing in the Desert??

Today was the Henley on Todd regatta. That sounds completely normal until you realize that the Todd River is dry. That then leave you wondering how interesting a boat race without water could possibly be. As it turns out a boat race in a dry river is very entertaining and one of the social highlights each year in Alice as well as a charity fund raiser.

Because we had to pack and get everything sorted out, we didn’t attend the races this year but were on hand for the parade.

There were 3 large self powered ships:

The Rotary Viking

The Australian Navy HMAS Courage

The Imparja Pirates

The big boats take part in a battle at the end of the event, armed with super soaker water guns and flour cannons. It is quite a spectacle to watch (preferable from a distance).

The majority of the day is filled with a wide variety of events that involve people running through the soft sand on the river bed carrying “boats” of very sizes.

I’ve heard it rumored that there were a few slabs of beer involved in the creation of this event.