Henley-on-Todd Regatta 2011

Well, I went to my first ever dry riverbed Regatta here in Alice Springs today. It's been running for 50 years this year, which is pretty amazing as far as community events go. The boats are not your normal boats, but depending on the class, the kind of boat you run with your legs down, Flintstone style. It was hilarious, particularly the first round which was the home-made boats, as teams could never be sure just how they would hold up during the actual race. I filmed more video than photos, so will post some when I get a chance (super slow internet tonight, so might only get one or two up) and the finale was amazing.
     They sure now how to throw a good event though, and I very much enjoyed the lack of segregation for drinkers. You could get yourself a can of beer and wander around the crowd, taking in the booths, sights and races without being banished to a beer tent like most events in Canada I've been to. They even sold stubbie coolers, so I bought one with the race on it, along with a t-shirt. They also had a free breathalyser tent where you could try out some visual effect items to imagine how you might see when you're relaly drunk, as well as submit for a breathalyser test. I drank all afternoon and still only blew .031, which was quite impressive...I was just curious and didn't need to drive home - I live just down the street about half a block from the riverbed where it all went down.

skiing on the Todd

paddling along the track

bathtub races

a couple of the Vikings

     The crowds were out in full force, and tame enough, lots of locals but also lots of out of towners and visitors. There were many from the space base aka Pine Gap as well, and the US Army team did well in the races. The weather was picture perfect - blue skies, a draught of wind, warm enough and no flies! After the races we came back to my place for a few more beers and watched movies. Good times!