It was sparkling sunshine and quince summer at the public boat launch behind Manchester’s Town Hall on Sunday for the 13th Annual Cardboard Box Regatta and the rim of the inner harbor was packed with spectators who’d all come out to witness a lighthearted-but-nevertheless-ruthless waves of competition that pitted fathers against daughters, youngsters against teachers, policemen against Select Board members.
And not necessarily in that order.
In all, 26 boats officially entered the race, all made of nothing more than cardboard boxes fastened by duct tape with names like RAM-bunctious, Ted LassBoat, “Dragon Not Draggin', Bad Buoys Whatcha Gonna Do?, Cuisine de France (inexplicably helmed by Vikings), and a perennial favorite, Snot Rocket.
The magic of each craft, of course, is the engineering that went into it. Some poor vessels barely made it off the launch before capsizing. Others, like Cuisine de France defied physics as it ably surged forward, propelled by four adult rowers and two youngsters along for the ride, one banging a drum to keep time and the other blowing a plastic Viking war horn (all this while brandishing baguettes).
To show the importance of vessel design, this year’s winner, RAM-bunctious captained by Akshay Patel shot up and around the race buoy in just 51 seconds. But just last year, Patel’s vessel (made from a giant flat screen television box) capsized before even making it to the buoy, showing that lessons learned can reemerge as a winner.
Coming in second after Patel was Fish & Chics, captained by Bernie Romanowski who came in at 52.15. First Place (under 18 category): Little Rusty, Zackary Soundis 1 minute and 8.46 seconds.
As he does each year, Bob Hofelt, who organized the event as a family with wife Kim and daughter Summer, took his usual spot on the docks, managing the crowds and egging on competitors in each heats with confidence, offering commentary and encouragement.
Winners were based on crowd favorites (by vote) and performance best time. Kim Hofelt reported in that with almost 500 votes, the award for Best Design & Crowd Favorite went to three boats (Hofelt said, “They were neck and neck for the top spot throughout the day!”) At the top was Ted Lassboat (Captain Becci Sollosy) with 23 percent of the votes; Cuisine de France (Captains Evan & Bitsy Olson and Stacey & Jake LeBlanc) with 19 percent; and the Manchester Police Dept.’s Bad Buoys Whatcha Gonna Do? (Captain Sean Mullin) with 18 percent of the votes.
Close calls and recoveries were crowd favorites. Manchester Select Board member Brian Sollosy captained the D-Barge with Summer Hofeldt, surprisingly staying afloat and coming in at eighth place. Carly Cook, unrecognizable in an amazing clown costume, capsized just seconds into the race, yet she swam, shedding a pesky rainbow tutu and pushed through to chants and cheers of the crowds that propelled her to a finish nearly five minutes later.
What an incredible race! We had 26 boats competing this year for the title of Champion of the Manchester by the Sea Regatta.
1. RAM-bunctious, Captain Akshay Patel - 51 seconds
2. Fish & Chics, Captain Bernie Romanowski - 52.15 seconds
3. Not Dead Yet, Captain Chris Langathianos - 1 minute 6.06 seconds
4. Little Rusty, Zackary Soundis 1 minute 8.46 seconds
5. Dragon Not Draggin', Captain Kayuri Patel 1 minute 18.87 seconds
6. Snot Rocket, Captain David Saunders - 1 minute 26.64 seconds
7. The Pikachu, Captain Wendi Wilkinson 1 minute 27.44 seconds
8. D-Barge DNF, Captains Summer Hofeldt & Brian Sollosy - 1 minute 29.37 seconds
9. Cuisine de France (Fresh All Day), Captains Evan & Bitsy Olson and Stacey & Jake LeBlanc, 1 minute 38.44 seconds
10. The Ohana, Captains Zoe Moruzzi & Scarlet Chambian - 1 minute 41.32 seconds
11. Let Them Eat Wake, Captain Holly Berube 1 minute 43.03 seconds
12. Rubble to the Rescue, Captain Lesley Denman - 1 minute 51.92
13. Smiley, One Word, Captain Jackson Bartlett & Riley Miller - 1 minute 52.17 seconds
14. Brookwood Boat #1, Captain Mary Steck - 1 minute 57.34 seconds
15. For the Win, Captain Aashika Patel - 2 minutes 7.24 seconds
16. The Bob Dreamboat, Captain Stew Pedascho 2 minutes 15.57 seconds
17. Lil' Boat 113, Captain Mara Coleman - 2 minutes 46.82 seconds
18. Bad Buoys Whatcha Gonna Do?, Captain Sean Mullins Manchester PD, 2 minutes 52.22 seconds
19. Top Gun, DUCK GOOSE, Captain Hunter Kellogg & Glen Wilksinson, 3 minutes 29.6 seconds
20. Wavekeyper, Captains Nico Benini & Miles Crocker - 3 minutes 46.43 seconds
21. Squid Games, Captain Kim Hofeldt 4 minutes 49.57 seconds
22. Happy Daze, Captain Carly Cook - 4 minutes 55.25 seconds
23. Octopus-Sea, Captain Devin Bradshaw - 6 minutes 38.66 seconds
DNF: Banana Boat, Captain Venkata
DNF: Sharky, Captain Brian Rasimeck
DNF: Ted LassBoat, Captain Becci Sollosy
The Manchester assistant harbormaster, Mike is out there every year for us! John Filias of Jeffery’s Creek donates the dumpster which is so critical to our being able to logistically do this. Chris Langathianos donated the sound system (and shot countless amazing photos) which made such a huge difference this year. Sweetwater Cafe donates the prizes for best design and first place kids’ boat. And The Legion plays such a huge part by opening their doors for everyone and makes it so fun with food and after party entertainment. Essex’s Peter Hoare played to the crowd after the race and everyone loved him.
This year organizers sold Cardboard boat race tee shirts to raise money for Dana Farber Cancer Institute in honor the Hofelt’s daughter, Summer, who completed her last treatment for cancer just weeks before the race and was on hand to help her father emcee. (Sunday’s sales raised approximately $1,500. To donate to Dana Farber, go to bit.ly/Summer01944)
