Cardboard craft take to Crystal Lake
Boats sank all over Crystal Lake, Illinois, recently, but the sinkings were greeted with laughter and applause, not alarm.
On the last Saturday in June, the day was devoted to the Cardboard Cup Regatta, a race in which participants build cardboard boats and sail them until they break up and sink, or reach the finish line, whichever comes first. This is the thirty-first year of the regatta, and it drew a crowd of approximately 1,700 to the shores of the lake with around 45 boats taking part.
Paul Leech, a member of the regatta committee, described the day as being a fun, family event that was lighthearted. The sinkings, he said, are hilarious. Apparently most people agreed, even those going down for the third time in one day.
Tim Miller, who is a resident of the Crystal Lake area, designed and built a replica of the Titanic, complete with its four distinctive smokestacks tilted at an 11-degree angle. The cardboard version was 5.5 feet wide and 27.5 feet long, and had a crew of ten. Perhaps the best part of the ensemble was that there was also an iceberg, manned by a single crewman, which the Titanic hit on the final leg of its journey.
The regatta helps to support twenty charities, and event organizers could work with a poster printing company to create signs to publicize next year's event.
On the last Saturday in June, the day was devoted to the Cardboard Cup Regatta, a race in which participants build cardboard boats and sail them until they break up and sink, or reach the finish line, whichever comes first. This is the thirty-first year of the regatta, and it drew a crowd of approximately 1,700 to the shores of the lake with around 45 boats taking part.
Paul Leech, a member of the regatta committee, described the day as being a fun, family event that was lighthearted. The sinkings, he said, are hilarious. Apparently most people agreed, even those going down for the third time in one day.
Tim Miller, who is a resident of the Crystal Lake area, designed and built a replica of the Titanic, complete with its four distinctive smokestacks tilted at an 11-degree angle. The cardboard version was 5.5 feet wide and 27.5 feet long, and had a crew of ten. Perhaps the best part of the ensemble was that there was also an iceberg, manned by a single crewman, which the Titanic hit on the final leg of its journey.
The regatta helps to support twenty charities, and event organizers could work with a poster printing company to create signs to publicize next year's event.