Life?s a beach for Mark Mason.

Instead of donning a shirt and tie and commuting to the office every morning, he slips on his flip flops, plops on a beach hat and heads for the ocean ? to play with sand.

That?s because Mark works for professional sand sculptors Team Sandtastic.

They?re the much-heralded American combo brought over to Bermuda by tourism chiefs to host a series of training clinics.

And they aim to fine-tune the Island?s talent ahead of today?s 11th annual International Sand Sculpture Competition at Horseshoe Bay.

Eye-catching creations of all shapes and sizes have been springing up all week on the pink-tinged shores of Southampton ahead of the contest.

When dropped into a mid-week sand clinic, a 100-tonne mound was in the process of being transformed into an impressive bank of Disney-style characters that also managed to conjure up images of Mount Rushmore... if it was on a beach.

The Bermuda-themed main display was due to be finished today and the attention to detail is astonishing. Each individual grain appears to have been carefully carved, crafted and then cajoled into place using professional tools.

So what happens when the tide comes in or the heavens open and hours of pain-staking work is simply washed away?

?You know what?s going to happen going in,? shrugged Mark. ?But I love making the sculptures.

?In a short space of time we turn the sand into something that people take pictures of, something they will remember their holiday in Bermuda by.

?They?ll say, ?I saw something cool?, and to me that?s worth every bit of energy we put in.?

Make no mistake, building super-sized sand sculptures takes some effort.

Mark and his Florida-based team, whom he describes as three full-time ?sand gypsies?, hold the record for the world?s biggest sandcastle. That stood proudly at a staggering 28 feet, seven-and-a-quarter inches.

People have been married on his sculptures, he tells us, and several have been used to advertise for major companies like Coca Cola.

The trio have travelled the world making temporary art.

They?re website showcases diverse creations, ranging from sprawling Snow White castles, rows of Egyptian pyramids and corporate logos, right through to a large statue of Albert Einstein puzzling over a problem.

And forget about high-flying businessmen walking on coals. Mark says a trip to the beach is great for morale with corporate team-building for big blue-chip companies now firmly part of the team?s portfolio.

Team Sandtastic clearly have high standards. But they said they have been impressed with the talent on display on Bermuda?s beaches.

?People are coming with ideas and questions about various techniques,? said Mark, a first-time visitor to these shores.

?Everyone has been really nice. The sand?s been great and people have been really into the contest ? I feel the love.?

Top tips handed out include the importance of ?well packed sand?, how to shadow sand, the benefits of negative and positive carving (to the layman, removing and adding lumps of sand) and merits of the volcano technique, a tricky sounding process that seems to involve using water to suspend sand.

Mark, 37, said that his love of arts and crafts as a child helped trigger his passion for sandcastle building, a job he has held since the early 90s. Boredom with sun-bathing on the red hot beaches of his home state of Florida was also a factor.

?I didn?t want to just sit there and sizzle,? he said. ?So, I built sandcastles and started making really cool ones. My friends were impressed when some of them went into the local newspaper, some of those friends are still working with me.?

Now he?s made a career based on sand ? and 15 years on, unlike most of his creations, there appears to be no danger of that getting washed away.

Nicky Gurret, organising today?s contest for the Institute of Bermuda Architects, said this was the first time pro sand sculptors had come to the Island ahead of the competition. She thanked the Department of Tourism for its support.

As many as 60 entries are expected in the contest, with last-minute entries welcome. Nicky said that a professional team from Bermuda had entered, to give the foreign experts some competition.

The competition has seven categories, including families, teenagers, pros and tourists. Building time starts at 10 a.m. and judging starts at 4 p.m. Top prize for the best amateur is $1,000. Entry is free but spaces are limited.