Nash Darby paddled fiercely to take first place Saturday in the kids division at the Cardboard Boat Race at Holt Park in Kelly Lake.
“I do this every year. My family is involved, so I figured I would do it, too,” Nash said. “It was really fun.”
The Cardboard Boat Race started six years ago in Kelly Lake. The objective of the race is to build a boat made only from cardboard and duct tape. Competitors paddle from a raft off the shoreline, around a buoy and back to the raft.
The race has three categories: a timed race, with adult and children’s divisions; Captain’s Choice, in which judges select the best looking and best built raft, again in both adult and children’s divisions; and the Titanic Award, which goes to the raft that looks best while sinking.
Eight boats competed on Saturday, and Ken Darby, who was the announcer for the races, said he was thrilled with the turnout.
“This is a very good turnout. We always have a lot of spectators in boats out in the water,” Darby said. “It always varies on how many boats we have, and since we have a good turnout this year we had a lot more people on shore.”
The entire competition was filled with laughter, smiles and excited participants.
Denny Gagnow, one of the younger competitors, was a first-time racer and was happy with the crowd’s support.
“At first when I started going my boat wouldn’t move, but once I got out there it was fun,” Gagnow said. “I would definitely do it again.”
There was only one adult entered in the timed portion Saturday. The boat was named Mustang Kelly and completed the course in 1 minute, 9 seconds. The winner of the kids race was the SS Put Together.
The SS Kayak won the Captain’s Choice Award in the children’s division, and Mustang Kelly won the adult division.
Caterpillar Truck won the Titanic Award.
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