How much time do you need to build a boat? On our first night in Sydney we chanced upon a two-hour boat-building contest organized by the local boat-builder's guild. The builders, in teams of two, used only hand-tools and an allotted supply of two warped plywood sheets and a few small timbers to build surprisingly floatable craft. Some teams made it even harder on themselves by arriving late and forgetting to bring a decent hand-saw. Those without saws resorted to bending the wood till it broke.

The range of boat designs was awe- and chuckle-inspiring. One craft was little more than a lopsided square box with a paddle and a mast in one corner. Several teams built primitive flat-bottomed canoes. One team of craftsmen expertly put together a tiny sailing dingy just big enough for two squatting crewmen. Yet another craft could be propelled by paddle, sail, or a wooden propeller turned by hand-crank from inside the boat! The seaworthiness of the boats looked doubtful at best, but not only did they float, they proved difficult to sink. One team attempted to board the lopsided square boat and, after throwing its crew into the water, stomped on the plywood gunwales until the sides were stripped down to an inch of the bottom. Still the box floated!

The race itself was little more organized than the movement of flies in a jar. Two of the canoes out-paddled the competition, though admittedly they ran the race backwards due to faulty instructions at the start. As the stragglers puffed at their oars and paddles, swimming competitors attacked the boats from beneath, pulling them apart at the seams and leaving the water dotted with floating woodchips and timbers. Just another day at Sydney's Darling Harbor!

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