Heroic Alcoholics Build Ramshackle Island In “International Waters” To Avoid Open Container Law

PortlandPledgeHazers8 years ago

Getting irresponsibly drunk on New Year’s Eve is a worldwide tradition and perhaps the only true path to world peace in this day and age. Unless you live in a handful of countries where alcohol in all its glorious forms is totally outlawed, chances are you rang in 2018 with a few too many shots and a hangover that made you never want to drink again (until this weekend). Unfortunately, some New Zealanders faced a kink in their usual plans as a holiday liquor ban was put in place in order to curb the usual insanity and alcohol-related incidents that the new year heralds. Rather than remain sober and compliant, a small group of these residents took action and raised both a middle finger and glass to the man.

From New York Daily News:

A group of creative New Zealanders constructed a sand island bar in coastal waters in effort to avoid a ban on drinking in public places.

The swim-up structure located in the Tairua estuary on the Coromandel peninsula, includes a picnic table and ice box for spirits.

Locals said the floating pub is in “international waters” and thus exempt from an official liquor ban…

They may be good, but they are still breaking the law and face a $180 fine if they get caught on that nifty make-shift bar.

Hate to break it to these geniuses, but a 50-foot waterway that you can survive swimming across while blackout does not exactly qualify as international waters. While international waters are the ideal setting for some shady dealings, the allure kind of disappears when everyone on shore can still see your every move. Regardless, props to these guys for their liquor-fueled ingenuity while also showing the world that New Zealand produces more than just lambs and mediocre pop singers (I’m talking to you, Lorde)..

[via New York Daily News]

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