by: Katie Writer – KTNA
Another year of nautical fun in the sun. By Katie Writer
Northern Susitna Institute enjoyed another year of sunny skies for the 5th Annual Cardboard Boat Regatta held at Christiansen Lake.
The spectators of the 2016 Carboard Boat Regatta enjoyed looking closely at the boats before they entered the water. The various shapes and sizes look like works of art when untouched by water. But as soon as they shove off from shore, it becomes quite obvious which ones have a short life span. For Finn Benischek and Tristan Shelby, their boxlike boat design, “The Mudskipper” had some double motives. The pair managed to make their way around three of four marks, and then capsized before the crowd. “Go SeaHawks,” was spray painted on the hull and it was obvious that the race was not complete until this was in full view.
Toby and Christie Seay’s “High Seays” was propelled by a mother/ son team who were making their
way to the third mark when their boat suddenly collapsed. Balloons were the only floating remains of their boat and the clean up crew were on the spot to pick up the debris and the stranded paddlers.
“Bravo Whiskey,” skippered by Joe Krompacky, resembled a TAT airplane. It lost some key components in the race that would not have gone over so well in the air. Joe’s strong paddle strokes led him across the finish line first for the adult division.
The Kaso family’s “We’re Going To Need A Bigger Boat” held it’s shape and won the family division. Caymen Kingery’s Magic Carpet Ride also held it’s shape and gave Caymen an advantage over his competition, “Miss Trout” until she muscled her way at the last stretch to the finish. The Commodore Cup was awarded to Cammryn Pokryfki’s “Miss Trout” for her clever design and tough competitor’s edge.
In the kids division first heat, Ari Burnside had a bit of trouble getting used to his tippy “Aurora,” and had to work extra hard to keep forward momentum. Jasper Marder’s sleek boat design “Ziggy Pop” gave him an advantage and though he was well ahead of both Ari and Shaye Stell, he rounded the
third mark incorrectly and had to go back not just once, but twice until it was properly rounded. By then, Ari had paddled his boat past Shaye’s rather much larger rig, the “Chima Stell”, which was a colorful, intricate alligator but was too large of a mass to keep up with Ari who eventually won that heat. The “Chema Stell” earned the most Creative design award.
The final of the kids’ division had stiff competition with the Willow’s Pokryfki sisters and their sturdy rigs, “Miss Trout” and “Surfer Girl” along with Ari and Jasper. The four competitors were neck and neck with water splashing about when Jasper Marder turned on his high speed mode and pulled ahead of his competition, with newly learned knowledge of how to round the marks. In an interview with Jasper, he claimed that he had the tippiest boat, but it make it easy for turning. He said that you have to steer with your tongue when you have a tippy boat. He smiled proudly saying that it was his third boat regatta and he was happy with the speed of his boat.
Since it is the Centennial year for Talkeetna history, Captain Joe Page designed his boat after the Steamer Alice, which long ago, chugged its way up the Susitna River with supplies for Talkeetna before there was a road. The artistry, function and size of the 6-person Steamer Alice impressed the Judges and earned them the best Historic Design. The steamer wheel at the stern of the boat turned with the slow but sure momentum of the boat.
The rowdy crowd cheered for all of the racers and fun was had by all. The Commodore Phillip Manning encouraged one last race for everyone who wanted just one more round, which contributed to the lack of boats going home intact.
