Cup Match festivities ended with a splash yesterday as beach goers flocked to the West End for one last holiday swim.

Hundreds of people moored in Mangrove Bay and took to the water on inflatable rafts while more sat on the shores to enjoy the sunshine and swizzle.

Andresa Tucker, 44, said: “This is an annual thing that we do as a family after Cup Match just to get together.”

The Non-Mariners Race had been a yearly highlight at Mangrove Bay on the Sunday after Cup Match until it was discontinued last year.

However, Ms Tucker, from Warwick, said her family had enjoyed traditional raft-ups for many years regardless of the satirical event.

She added: “We used to picnic right on the shore as a Cup Match tradition.

“Recently we came for Non-Mariners, but that seems to be done, so now we just come to swim away the day.”

Heidi and Ryan Ramoutar attended the raft-up for the first time. The couple explained that they were visiting from Toronto and had come to the event on a recommendation.

Mr Ramoutar, 30, said: “My parents have been here before and so they knew about Cup Match.

“They told us about a big cricket match and everybody does this as the after-party.”

Ms Ramoutar, 38, said that they landed in Bermuda on Friday and did not get the full Bermudian experience of seeing a Cup Match game.

However, she added that they attended the Bacchanal Run in Hamilton to catch up with the festivities.

Ms Ramoutar said: “In Toronto right now there’s Caribana going on which is a Caribbean cultural festival with similar activities.

“Since we’re missing that we thought we’d come to this.”