Atlantic Ocean beach hobby worth championship in California contest

City man wins ‘Most Unique’ sand sculpture

An enjoyable activity for Bruce Lingenfelter when he and wife, Judy, visit the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean turned into something worthy of a championship last month in a decades-old contest on the sands of the Pacific.

The Waycross resident’s sand sculpture won the “Most Unique” category in the 64th annual Corona del Mar Sand Castle Contest at Corona del Mar State Beach in Newport Beach, Calif.

Lingenfelter’s creation depicted a dragon with a fish in its mouth and was named “Corona Dinona.” Participating under the name “Sandy Bunz,” Lingenfelter earned $100 and a trophy for his four-hour effort in the sand.

The contest, held September 27, is annually hosted by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Sculptures were the work of individuals as well as teams of up to eight, Lingenfelter said. The theme of this year’s contest, which had six divisions, was “Surf, Sand & Sun.”

“The art can vary from between elaborate sand castles, beach scenes, ocean creatures to imagination unlimited,” said Lingenfelter, who added he’s dabbled in sand creations for years on beach visits, ones to Fernandina Beach, Fla., in particular. “One of the sand castles was almost 14 feet high. There was a vintage VW (Volkswagen) bus, an octopus, a space craft landing on the beach and various fun scenes.”

He said creations are limited to sand and anything native to the beach. His dragon had two feathers for horns.

“I found them laying (on the beach),” Lingenfelter said. “A lot of (entries) used shells.”

The Lingenfelters were on the West Coast visiting their son, Brinceson, and his family. The winner said he’d known about the contest from past visits, but this was the first time their trip coincided with the contest.

“I thought it might be fun since we were there,” said the retired homebuilder.

Lingelfelter said most of his creative work comes in the form of small word craft projects. He’s a member of the Okefenokee Heritage Center Art Guild.

“It was a lot of fun and a great experience seeing all the art work,” he said of the competition.

A photo of Lingenfelter’s “Corona Dinona” appears on the contest’s Facebook page along with those of other entries. They can be viewed by visiting https://www.facebook. com/CDMSandcastl eContest/.