Tuesday, May 10, 2011

 Tallest sandcastle: Ed Jarrett sets world record (HD Video)

FARMINGTON, CT, USA -- Ed Jarrett, a Canton resident and director of golf and clubhouse operations at Farmington Woods, used 1.6 million pounds of sand and water packed into wooden forms by 1,500 local volunteers to build a 38 feet, 2 inches tall sand castle - setting the new world record for the Tallest sand castle .

 Photo: The World's Tallest Sand Castle ( enlarge photo )

 The previous Guinness world record for the tallest sandcastle measured 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) and was created by Camp Sunshine at the Point Sebago Resort in Casco, Maine, USA.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for The most people buried in sand simultaneously: 517, at the Clogherhead Prawn Festival in Clogherhead, Co. Louth, Ireland.

  Surveyors from F.A. Hesketh & Associates, Inc. of East Granby visited the site at Winding Trails. According to the surveyors, the World's Tallest Sand Castle is 38 feet, 2 inches tall.

  The castle now stands almost two feet taller than his previous castle , built in 2007 in Maine.

  "This is fantastic," says Ed Jarrett, whose current Guinness World Record for the Tallest Sandcastle stands at 31 feet, six inches.
 "Just to be safe, we've noted a second measurement and can still break the record if we somehow lose some height from the spire. We'll need to measure again in a couple of weeks when all the forms have been removed and I am finished sculpting, but right now it looks like we've got ourselves a new record!"

  And though volunteers are no longer needed for the castle itself, Jarrett welcomes the help in packing sand for walls that will surround the castle, a moat and a pirate ship, all on the ground.

  All participants are encouraged to donate at least a few dollars for Jarrett's Castle's five charities: the Save Walton Pond project at Winding Trails, Special Olympics Connecticut, Gifts of Love, New Horizons, and UCONN Children's Cancer Fund.

  Sponsors include: Dunning Sand & Gravel, which donated all the sand required for the project; Rich Wright Productions, which is producing a documentary film about Jarrett's quest for the Guinness World Records; Sanford and Hawley, which provided lumber and fencing; WardComm Public Relations and Sharon Mayock Graphic Design for marketing and public relations; Kostin Ruffkess; the Farmington Field Club; and Flagsteadd Smokehouse BBQ Restaurant.