Makeshift marine non-crafts were again launched into Mangrove Bay yesterday for the annual Non-Mariners Race.

Several of the vessels created for this year’s non-race set their satirical sights on the recent America’s Cup and the defeat of the One Bermuda Alliance in last month’s General Election.

Ashley Weekes, of the America’s Cup Non-Boundary Painters, said she and her crew were motivated to solve a problem.

“When people were watching the America’s Cup on the television, they had the boundary lines on there,” she explained of the racecourse.

“And so people would go to the America’s Cup looking for these boundary lines actually painted on the water. So we decided let’s be non-boundary painters and paint the water.”

A mixture of flour and water served as the young team members’ “paint”. Empty paint cans and tyre tubes, gathered over two days, served as the vessel’s flotation devices. Participating for the second year, Ms Weekes said that she and her team made this year’s entry bigger than the last.

“We believe it’s going to float better,” she said.

By far the biggest entry into this year’s non-race was the OBA Non-Forward Together entry assembled by members of Mariners RFC.

Johnny Peacock said that at 27 feet, the non-craft was the longest the group had ever constructed. It took a mere 30 minutes to build, he said.

“We are not moving forward together, so it’s the Non-Forward Together,” he said of the name.

“At the moment, we’re just trying to get enough people to get it into the water — whether it floats or not doesn’t matter,” he said.

“It’s going to be an issue.”

Bruce Barritt, who has served as non-emcee for the non-race for the last three decades, said that poking fun at politics has been a key part of the event since the beginning.

“The people that actually make the non-craft use it as an opportunity to poke fun at the Government, politicians and Bermuda,” he said.

Mr Barritt said the focus of the event has shifted over the years since he first got involved.

“The pleasure craft fleet has grown exponentially and the people on the dockside have diminished,” he said.

Other non-events on this year’s roster included noodle non-races for boys and girls, the non-dance off, and the non-calypso pipe band parade.

“They try desperately to corral this non-event into something that has a structure — and you can’t,” Mr Barritt said.

Maureen Sullivan, vice-commodore at the Sandys Boat Club, said planning for the one-day event begins early every year.

“Once we’re done with this, we sort of start thinking about next year,” she said.

“It’s all run by volunteers — so we all put a little time in here and there and everywhere.”

Entry charged for each non-craft, as well as for access to the boat club itself, would be used to support local charities, including the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, Ms Sullivan said.

“The winner of the floats actually get to pick where that money goes,” she said.

“We’re really focusing more on the charity side of things — really trying to give as much as we can.”

Mr Barritt said: “There’s a part of this silly event that I think needs to be nurtured and kept going.”

The non-event, he said, was the best way to say farewell to the long weekend “when you’ve probably not had enough sleep, eaten far too much of the wrong things, and consumed far too much alcohol.”

“Let’s just act silly, relax, have fun for the last afternoon — because the world comes crashing back to reality tomorrow.”