CONSIDER a Frisbee, sand and water. Together they sound like components for a pleasant day at the beach.

In the hands of Team Sandtastic, however, they're tools used to create sand sculptures of just about anything imaginable.

The Department of Tourism brought the Florida-based group to the island this week as part of an annual sand-building contest organised by the Bermuda Institute of Architects.

Team Sandtastic's talents will be showcased at Horseshoe Bay as part of the four-day event culminating in the Bermuda International Sand Sculpture Competition.

An annual event for Bermuda, sand sculpting is a regular activity for the professionals who comprise Team Sandtastic. The group travels the world creating sand ? and sometimes snow ? sculptures for public and private amusement.

Although it seems closer to play than work, in reality it's a profitable business.

Mark Mason started the company 15 years ago. Today the venture employs four regular sculptors ? Mr. Mason, Dan Belcher, Larry Hudson and Pat Harsch ? however, project size and location sometimes demands that it utilises a host of associates across the United States, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

"You take a hobby and have it roll itself into a profession," Mr. Mason explained of the unique venture.

The self-described "head sand gypsy" has taken no art or technical courses but has merely worked at the craft for years.

"It came from doing arts and crafts as a kid," he said. "It's almost like found art. It's something everyone's done as a child so everyone can identify with it on some scale. What we've done is take it to the next level."

In reality, however, his entrepreneurial progression was a bit more studied. Mr. Mason grew up in Fort Lauderdale where he spent a great deal of time on the beach with a friend, Larry Hudson. The two devoted hours to building sandcastles and playing Frisbee.

They won their first sandcastle competition, an annual challenge by Florida newspaper the , while still in high school. It was enough to encourage Mr. Mason to persevere.

"You start as a hobby, people see you doing it, maybe you enter a contest. I just love building. It was something I did, people offered to pay me ? I said, 'Heck, yeah'. It got so big I needed friends. For 15 years I've made my living travelling the globe making sand and snow sculptures."

Called on to build around 70 sculptures a year, Team Sandtastic now boasts a host of amazing creations in its portfolio. Among them: an underwater scene replete with a manta ray, coral and giant squid, a ribbon-encased jeep and a likeness of Albert Einstein.

As well, the group holds the Guinness World Record for the tallest hand-built sand sculpture. Built in under 100 man hours, it measured 28 feet, seven and a quarter inches and was created using 240 tons of sand.

Mr. Mason and his team arrived in Bermuda on Tuesday. Their challenge was to create a giant Bermuda-themed sculpture at Horseshoe Bay.

They also held free sand clinics at the popular Southampton beach for amateur sculptors an hour before sundown, the last of which will take place this evening. As well, each sculptor will work individually to create a sculpture during tomorrow's competition.

Asked whether it annoyed him that his creations have such short shelf lives, Mr. Mason said not at all.

"The ephemeral nature of it doesn't bother me. We're more into the making of it rather than the final piece. If there's perfect weather and no one runs through it, it can last indefinitely. Everyone thinks it's the wind that bothers it but it's really sand that's picked up by wind which then takes away our detail. The wind picks up the sand and ruins our structure.

"We've seldom had it happen that someone will intentionally ruin our sculptures. Generally people respect what we've done. They don't want to destroy it but often they will check to make sure it's just sand ? we sometimes see their fingerprints."

He insisted the method used to create such masterpieces isn't far off from how sandcastles are made by kids, the largest difference being the tools used by a professional sculptor.

"Our process is the same as a child's. We're packing sand in a basket, flipping it upside down and tapping the edges until the sand comes out. Our buckets are made from plywood and two-by-fours allow us to pack sand as hard as possible. It increases the surface tension and, because of that, the sand holds together when we carve it, and it dries.

"Sand is a dynamic art medium, thus the size of the team sent to carve it will vary according to the performance art time requested by our client and the intricacy of design. All we use is sand and water. No cement or fixatives are mixed in.

"The sand is compacted into wood forms at first, but all forms are removed as the sand within is sculpted from the top, down. We use many different tools to carve ? margin trowels, spreaders, cake decorator spatulas, even dental instruments for the really detailed stuff.

"Everything is decided through trial and error although we look for stainless steel items so they don't rust on the beach. But everything's a tool, we even shape the sand with our hands."

Prior to Bermuda, the team was in Acapulco for a corporate team building event. According to Mr. Mason, such activities represent about 40 per cent of the team's contracts. "But we've done such a range. We've made sculptures for wedding proposals, we've had people get married on our sculptures ? 200 people ate dinner in one of our sand sculptures in Sarasota, Florida. Every job's different. Not only because we never create the exact same sculpture twice but also because every sand is different."

Asked what he thought of Bermuda's sand, the sculptor said: "It's clean. There's not a lot of rocks and sticks and cigarette butts. And it shadows very nicely."

Although he refused to put a price on his services, Mr. Mason admitted a trip to Bermuda would cost the Department of Tourism less than if the offered destination had been somewhere along the eastern coast of the United States.

"We really wanted to come to Bermuda," he enthused.

The Bermuda Sand Sculpture Competition will take place at Horseshoe Bay tomorrow.

Teams of up to six people will have between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to build their creations on plots of 12 feet by 12 feet. The competition is open to seven categories ? families, teenagers (aged 13-19), children (aged 12 and under), open, company or organisation, tourist and professional. Each team is allowed to enter only one category.

A panel of three will start judging the sculptures at 4 p.m. and there will be prizes for first, second and third in all categories. Cash prizes will be awarded to the three best amateur entries in the competition.

The winning team will receive $1,000, second place $500, and third $250. The best professional entry will also win $1,000.

For further information, call Nicky Gurret on 295-4597 or the Ministry of Tourism on 292-0023. E-mail inquiries and entries can be sent to sandtasticdaysbermudatourism.com.

For more information on Team Sandtastic, visit www.teamsandtastic.com.