Sand Fortresses

...and so castles made of sand, fall in the sea, eventually...

"Castles Made of Sand" - Jimi Hendrix

Yeah, yeah, I know. It seems so dreadfully obvious to use the Jimi Hendrix lyrics for a web site about sand castles, but read on--it's more applicable that you think.

 Sand Fortress Home Page - JD McWilliams 

-I've been here before. Shut up and tell me what's new-

Welcome to the Sand Fortress Web Site

-Shut up and get to the main menu-

As a part time resident of Hawaii, I have learned to build sand fortresses. I don't refer to my structures as "castles" because I am more influenced by the futuristic fortresses of Star Wars or the computer game "Doom" than the traditional European castles of the 15th-16th centuries.

I'm not strict with this style, however: I have carved towers with a more contemporary design; sometimes I include a giant Hawaiian "Kahuna" head as a cornerstone; and many of the structures resemble cathedrals.

My brother Davey, who is an artist and thus, has studied different styles of architecture over the centuries, tells me the reason many of my fortresses resemble ancient cathedrals is because, standing there on the beach, I am faced with the same problem builders faced centuries ago: the lack of structural steel. And Davey has really long hair, so he must be right.

Each part of these structures must rely on the strength, size, and stability of the elements around it--too much weight on top, for example, and the lower portion collapses. But still, like the builders long ago, I can create tall towers, dramatic overhangs, and striking arches. Without the steel, both of our structures naturally take on a similar appearance. Except Michelangelo has never painted a ceiling in one of my fortresses. The conceited bastard.

When he was visiting here in Hawaii, my other brother, Ronbo, had a different take on the similarities between my fortresses and cathedrals: He ignored the subject altogether and we just built a big bathtub in the sand--complete with water of course.

Engineered for Confrontation with the Tide

There is one thing that makes most of my fortresses different from all others: a working drainage system. Actual working plumbing that runs from behind the fortress, down through its foundation, and emptying out of the front, channeling water back to the ocean.

-Okay, I've heard enough. Shut up and get to the main menu-

People sometimes believe that I employ a drainage system so the fortress will last longer. This is not the case. In fact, the result is just the opposite because in order for the fortress to drain water, it must first be flooded with water; and to flood it with water, I must build close to the water. That is very hazardous to a sand structure and I lose many of them quickly to the sea. (Hence the Jimi Hendrix lyrics above.)

So why do I include a drainage system? I just think it's cool. It's fun to make and it's cool to watch. Seeing the water drain out of a sand fortress is one of the coolest things in the world. At least I like it. Then again, I like honking at dogs as I drive by when they're taking a crap.

To install a drainage system and have the sand fortress stand up to the incoming tide, at least for a little while, demands specific and special engineering. Details are in the "Drainage System" link below. (If you're in a hurry, I'll just sum it up for you here: larger foundations. Now you can skip that part.)

The Beginning

The truth is, I've only been carving sand fortresses since the Spring of 2000. In the beginning, I didn't set out to build sand fortresses--it started with the drainage systems.

I was bored one day at Bellows Beach and I found a couple of small plastic tubes in the sand about a foot long and as big around as a finger. I wondered if I could get water to run through them. Contemplating this idea was the inspiration that started it all.

I began piling mounds of sand near the water, then I plugged one end of a tube with a short stick, shoved it through the little mound of sand, then removed the stick. (The stick was to prevent sand from filling the tube when I shoved it through the mound.) Then I waited for the tide to make a pool behind the mound of sand. The mound was so small that the water pretty much destroyed it when a good wave came up the beach, but somewhere in the mess I saw the tube draining water, and it was cool. The following week I went to a hardware store. In fact, the exact date was February 25, 2000, a date that goes down in sand fortress history as the day I bought a bunch of PVC pipe and connectors, thus beginning my quest to harness the sea.

The ugly, lumpy mounds I was using as barriers against the water became increasingly uninspiring. I noticed, while sitting there in the sand and water like some weirdo piling sand on top of a bunch of white plastic tubes, that when I would use sand saturated with water, it would stick to the mound better than the drier sand and solidified much like cement. It seemed pretty solid too. I found a piece of hard plastic that had washed up on the beach, and used it to carve straight, flat walls into the mounds of sand. Even something that simple made the mounds look much more interesting.

The next time I went to the beach, I used the chunk of plastic to scrape straight walls into the mounds and brought a common knife and fork with me to use for carving details. It wasn't long before I ditched the piece of plastic and replaced it with a butter knife with a longer blade. Strangely enough, these simple tools are the ones I still use today.

However, I'm now at a level of sophistication that I could really add some nicer, finer detail to the fortresses with improved tools. I just have to get some.

But anyway, that's the story of how this all started.

This Web Site

Building structures made out of sand, near rushing water, is anything but an endeavor in permanence. Words like "futile," "fleeting," and "ephemeral" come to mind. (Okay, I used a thesaurus for "ephemeral," so what.) It's obviously better for the sand fortress to be far from the ocean, but I need to build close if I want them to flood.

While I'm making them, I get a satisfying sensation of creativity; getting the sand to stand up in a tower as high as my chest is cool; I'm on a beautiful beach with lots of sun and clear water; the sand itself is mesmerizing and feels good in my hands; and I get to show off a little. All of this I get while I'm building a sand fortress, and after it's done, if I timed it right, I can watch the drainage system in action. Even without a drainage system, the fortress itself is nice to look at. But eventually, the tide takes it--often before I even leave the beach. Even if I leave the beach before it goes, it will never last more than a few more hours. So what's left?

Pictures

Well, okay, there are memories too, but they fade. I guess there are conversations with friends about the fortresses too, but all of this is besides the point, which is, pictures.

The more people who see the pictures, for me, the longer the fortresses live; the more valuable they become. In fact, with the fortresses being so temporary and the pictures being so permanent, the photos have virtually become more important than the fortresses, with the single exception that without the fortresses, there would be no pictures. So as long as I get the photographs, I don't really care to much about what happens afterwards. That's why I don't mind watching the tide tear them apart. They live on forever in the pictures, and the pictures live on here at this web site.

I can show the actual photographs to a few people, but scanning them in and putting them on the web quickly gives them a much larger audience and thus, gives them even more value. I've been programming computers since I was in high school, including web design in the last few years. That, combined with the need for a larger audience for the pictures made this web site inevitable.

I hope you enjoy this site because when it comes right down to it, if you're reading this, you're the reason why this site exists. Enjoy the pictures and this little piece of life, and feel free to return any time. I'll try to make your time spent here worth while. Of course comments of any kind are welcome and may someday be included in the site.

-JD McWilliams

Main Menu

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Although this web site is quite substantial, it is still under construction and many pages haven't been completed. Many fortresses don't have their photos published yet, but they will. Last updated: Monday, October 07, 2002.

If you've found this construction site by accident, or are getting an early preview, I hope you enjoy what is here. -JD

Email: JD McWilliams

Sand Fortresses - Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002 - JD McWilliams

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