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Fortress A010Home \ Fortresses \ Oct 2000 \ A010
Location: Bellows Beach |
Sunday, October 1, 2000
Today was a great day at the beach because I had several friends with me.
Mark and Cindy Montgomery and I drove out to Bellows in the morning and
got there about 10:30. Moira DeNike and
Lisa joined us later in the
afternoon.
-Shut up and get to the pictures-
Low tide was around 12:15 pm, perfect timing for a drainage system. I built right at the tide level. The tide was really low so I was way out on the flat part of the beach. I wondered if I was too close to the water; when it's that low and the ground is so flat, the water covers more horizontal distance when it rises. But I relied on the tide charts and built right at the tide.
I first piled up a little sand to put the drainage pipes on, then took a picture. To date, I had never documented that process in pictures, so I took a quick one after I had the pipes in place. Then I piled up what seemed like a massive amount of sand, which of course, is always necessary when engineering a fortress to withstand the tide. Especially Bellows Beach tide. One very important tool for any sand carver is a good shovel. It's almost a necessity for moving the large quantities of sand. You'd be a fool not to have one. Unfortunately, I don't have one. (I've really got to get a shovel. I've found myself saying this often the last couple of months.) Once the base was big enough, I started with the molds.
Mark and Cindy were hanging out in the shade up near the car. I was envious because it was another fiendishly hot day and the sun was trying to melt the energy right out of me. After a while, Mark came down while I was was carving. The tide had started to come in and an occasional wave would brush across the front of the fortress' foundation, taking a little sand with it. Always playing its little game. I explained to Mark that soon I would have to start dumping some extra buffer sand around the base to hold off the tide until I was finished. After explaining that, Mark did it for me. It was the first time I really had help and I loved it. I could continue carving while he piled some sand around the base. Later, he even filled a mold for me and helped stack up some cement sand. Then his shoulder got a little weird and he had to retreat to the shade, wounded in the battle against the tide.
I had no idea what I was going to carve. The tall front tower was thick at the top. I was able to get it really high--close to a record--probably around five feet tall, and still, it was thick at the top. I could've gone higher, but I didn't want to get greedy and have it collapse. I was thinking about carving twin tops to the tower, but thought that would be a waste of sand. Then I had an idea to carve a small arch in the top of the tower. I've carved arches, and I've carved tall towers of course, but I had never carved an arch into the top of a tower. So I did, and it came out looking pretty cool. The shape looked familiar. It took me a little while to place it, but it looked like the eye of a giant needle.
The tide was relentless today, so I quickly carved the rest of the fortress. I put in a nice arch with a thick, solid beam across the top. I also added three more towers, two of which also got the needle design. The third tower was different, but I kept it curvy to match the rest of the fortress--it was largely curvy. Once again, I did not have time to do a whole lot of detail work. The tide flooded it a few times while I carved and I watched it drain through its twin pipes.
Around 2:30, Lisa and Moira showed up. Lisa was digging the needle towers. This was the first time Moira had seen one of my fortresses in person and she dug it. Then she made a brownie out of the sand and tasted it. She decided the batter had too much salt in it. Later, she made a little sea slug and a man's face in the sand. Moira lives on her own frequency. Then Cindy made a heart in the sand.
Once I had finished the fortress, I dumped some buffer sand around the front one last time, then got my camera, took a few pictures, and waited for it to flood and eventually fall down. But the tide stalled and entered its ebb phase and only flooded the fortress once or twice with barely enough water to reach the intake filters. This was the low high tide and I guess I didn't build too close to the water after all. I did get some nice photos, especially after the sun started to set, but I never really got a drainage shot or a destruction shot. It's weird--I was almost upset that the tide didn't come in and take it down. I guess what I really wanted was just some good flooding. Although I was prepared for total destruction, I got a surprising reprieve. Sort of like a guy who's going to end it all by jumping out of a window, only to find out afterwards he's on the first floor. So I decided to accept and enjoy the fact that it would be standing for another six hours or so.
Another thing that was different about this trip to the beach was that I brought my video camera and taped the fortress. This is such a superior method to document the fortress, but I don't have the equipment right now to include it in the web site. I will make copies however, and send them to a select audience; most notably, my mom.
I must thank Mark for helping me with this fortress. We talked afterwards and might team up again in the future to build something a little more substantial. There are many designs I'd like to try but never have the time. With two people working together, these ideas could be a reality. I also must thank Mark and Cindy for bringing me a sandwich. They took off for some lunch and of course, I was in my own little sand zone world and couldn't leave the beach, so they brought me back a sandwich and it was good.
I laugh at the fact that I'm still only carving with knives. I could make such nice details with better tools and I have a few designs for them in my head. I need two things: a shovel and some new tools.
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