Captains, start your yachts!

The Beach Bar at Wharfside is the place to be this weekend for the annual St. John Minimal Regatta.

In contrast to other 'regattas', where Captains spiff out their craft and hone their sailing skills and tactics, the event is for amateurs only.  Especially the DIYers (do it yourselfers).

Contestants have to build a boat with only a sheet of plywood, a roll of duct tape and a pound of fasteners and a paid of eight foot-long 2x4s.  Obviously it also helps to have a sense of humor in your toolbox as well as a six-pack.  But, the Inquiring Iguana digresses.

With the Saturday afternoon weather forecast calling for a high of 88 degrees, certainly no one would blame any regatta contestant for turning over his/her boat to cool off, either.

Check back here this weekend for photos of the good times.  Or, if you're there, send 'em here and we'll post them ASAP.

There will be lots of music over the weekend, most of it from St. Croix's Kurt Briggs Schindler.  He'll play at Larry's Landing Friday night, the Beach Bar Saturday night and Crazy Cracker's Monday night.

• Photos from last year's Minimal Regatta here
• Kurt Briggs Schindler's Web site, KBSchindler.com