Summer 2016 | Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2016 | Page 53

CAS
TLES
CAS TLES
in the

S AND
AND
WITH A LITTLE IMAGINATION,
THE RIGHT TOOLS AND PATIENCE,
MASTERS DREAM UP AND CREATE
ASTONISHING SAND SCULPTURES.
BY AMBER LANIER NAGLE

F

or days, the team of sand sculptors worked diligently—packing, pounding, forming, carving and creating an unrivaled castle.
Magnificent towers materialized first, each topped with a delicate
finial. Next, sculptors balanced on midlevel platforms while chiseling out familiar landmarks such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Statue of
Liberty, the onion dome of the Taj Mahal and the upper lattice work of the
Eiffel Tower. The lowest level showcased Rome’s Colosseum, Egyptian pyramids, a suspension bridge, a cruise ship, sleek skyscrapers and a jet emerging
through clouds.
The team—led by Ted Siebert, owner and lead sculptor of The Sand Sculpture
Co.—transformed gargantuan mounds of Miami sand into a 3-D masterpiece.
At nearly 46 feet tall, the four-story sculpture successfully claimed a coveted
Guinness World Record for the tallest sand castle.

For the Record

MIAMI2YOU/ SHUTTERSTOCK

“Turkish Airlines commissioned us to build … the record-breaking castle to celebrate the airline’s inaugural flight service from Miami to its hub in Istanbul,”
explains Siebert of the origins of the project. “We only had three weeks to
plan and prepare, but we gave it our best shot and it worked out. It was tall
enough—and quite beautiful.”
The sprawling work of art stood its ground for a few days before succumbing
to the elements. Most passersby paused, marveled and recalled the moat-circled castles from their own childhoods. Imbued in the sand and water, sandcastles are also built with a pinch of nostalgia; they instantly transport their
viewers back to a simpler time when they creatively constructed the structures
in their imaginations before carelessly knocking them down to rebuild their
next vision. Unlike the crooked amateur castles of our youth, Siebert’s recordbreaking engineering feat required immense preparation, 1,800 tons of sand,

SPRING/SUMMER 2016 | SEA ISL AND LIFE 53