Cordless Canoe Challenge.

This year there was a new attraction at the Beale Park Boat Show.

The Cordless Canoe Challenge.

Entries were invited for boats powered by cordless power tools, and about a dozen boats turned up to take on the challenge. Some were sublime while some were frankly ridiculous but all of them showed how ingenious people can be, and how many ways there are to solve a particular problem.

This short video was made during the early heats on the Saturday when the sun was still shining and shows the breadth of designs entered, including Ayrspeed the paddle wheel entry from Slade Penoyre of the Amature Yacht Research Society, Jo Moran's skin on frame geodesic canoe, and Tobias Vokhul's sublime King Canute. 

WaterCraft ensured the entire event was filmed for posterity and you can see it here, intruduced by the illustrious ed Pete Greenfield

Notice the dramatic change in the weather on Sunday when those indominatable guys from the UK-HBBR were getting ready to set off on the Thames raid II.

Only in England my friends............................