Mackey McElfresh was a picture of cool during the 24th River Legacy Foundation Cardboard Boat Regatta on Saturday, arriving at Hurricane Harbor early, setting up well ahead of time, and making sure he and his Ashworth Elementary teammates were ready.
It wasn';t until they actually placed the boat in the water did the fifth-grader ask, "Can this float?'
"We hadn';t put it in the water,' Mackey said. "How do you really know?'
You don';t. Perhaps that';s the allure of this annual event that attracts hundreds of boats made of corrugated cardboard, lots of duct tape and even more faith. Some float. Some sink. Some simply go in circles, as if being sucked into some sort of Bermuda Triangle.
"It';s the most fun you';ll ever have while in the midst of losing,' is how boat designer John Sutter describes it.
In all, well over 400 boats were on display, from small ones built for two to huge ones built for 10 to mechanical ones able to slice though Hurricane Harbor';s Wave Pool courtesy of motors. Time trials determined which boats advanced to the final. That';s where engineering comes into play: can the cardboard hold up over several races?
"You can get to the semifinals, but not go anywhere if you go down,' said D';Lynn Bradshaw, the faculty sponsor at Ashworth. "It';s heartbreaking when you spend lots of Saturdays making sure the boat is seaworthy only to see it go out on the water and straight to the bottom.'
Most competitors were from elementary, middle and high schools, and colleges like Tarleton State University, which had seven entries, and Lincoln College of Technology, which had two. Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth had 28 entries. James Bowie High School of Arlington had nine.
Businesses compete for bragging rights as well. Randol Mill Pharmacy is a traditional competitor along with Harris Packaging and Bates Container, which traditionally duke it out for top design.
Aside from divisional winners, awards went out to Best of Show, Most Spirited Crew, and the Titanic Award for the most spectacular sinking.
Kids ages 4 to 12 participated in a Mini-Boat Regatta that allowed them to sail their little boats by blowing them down a rain gutter. Attractions at the park open during the regatta included Hook';s Lagoon, the Tornado and SkyCoaster Swing.
Just as much fun: boat names. Unidentified Floating Object (Young Junior High), Hota-mal-e (Clayton Yes/Atwood McDonald), Citizen-Ship (International Newcomers Academy), Robo Your Boat (Nolan Catholic) and Ashworth';s Accidentally on Porpoise were some of the more intriguing.
"Having fun' was the chief instruction Young sponsor Selece Tower gave students although with five boats entered she wanted to bring back some sort of award, with the exception to that dreaded Titanic Award.
"We weren';t sea-tested and had no idea whether the boats would even finish,' Tower said. "You could say it was all a step of faith.'
Arlington ISD
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