A delightfully entertaining experience awaits you at the Seneca Harbor Park on the beautiful shores of Seneca Lake in downtown Watkins Glen. Enjoy a full day of activities for the entire family, highlighted by the Cardboard Boat Regatta. (Yes, brave mariners actually climb in and pilot their handmade cardboard boats around the race course!) In addition, you will find live music, vendors, a downtown parade and lots of family activities.
Cardboard boat? . . . Yes!
The same cardboard that boxes are made of? . . . Exactly! As a matter of fact, it must be recycled cardboard!
...And you get into the boat, I mean, it’s not a model boat race? Yes, and no!
Don’t they sink? Well, yeah, after a fashion, but by painting the surfaces with your choice of covering and sealing the joints with glue and duct tape,
You stand a good of chance of building a boat that will last for years.
1995: Carboard Boat Regatta is conceived by Dean Kimball of the U.S.P.S. Mike Sutterby builds the first boat, the famed Dixie Valdes. First floating of a Watkins Glen cardboard boat… in the pool of the Villager. To everyone’s surprise it floated. First race had 20 entries and surprisingly few sinkings. Over all fastest time was posted by Dennis Chapman in Child’s Play. Les White in Seneca’s Serpent and the "Ship of Fools"built were "big" crowd pleasers.
1996: 21 entries. Some of the more memorable included Child’s Play Two, The Loonatic, Yates Escape, the Surfer. And King Neptune’s Throne. Fastest time. Les White in 1:43…Most incredible sinking went to the "Yates Escape".
1997: Parade of the Cardboard Boats leaves Chemung Canal Bank led by the School Bus…and includes the Yates Escape, the Seneca Lodge Viking Ship, the extraordinary Glenora Wine BOTTLE, and those great boat builders from Cuba. Great times are turned in
including the 41’5" "Seneca Sailors Sweetheart" in 2’50". Fastest of the day, Bill Holgate in "Loonatic" with a 1"44", who beat the fastest kayak of the day by .03". Great memories of 97: those "never say die" school teachers and the "Brothers of Blues" from Dundee.
1998: Boats rumored to be under construction: Hazlitt "Red Cat", WETM entry, and new to the Regatta..the WING NUT from Sayre. Look for the return of the gang from Cuba and a first entry from the the Village of Watkins Glen and the Watkins Glen Rotary. The Schuyler County Chamber of Team is almost ready to defend the rights to Seneca Lake against the brave crew from Yates County. Look for the return of two originals, Seneca Lake Lager and Child’s Play. No reports on the Blues Brothers or the teachers…we can only hope to see these great teams return.
1999: The inagural "Splash Bash" produced over 50 boat/crew registrations and one of them, the Seneca Lodge entry "The Asp" was over 40' in lenght!... We also saw the Lakewood entry make a specacular sinking at the starting line with 22 brave souls going down with the ship.
2000: Great weather and a large turnout produced such memorable winners as the "Snot Rocket" that, as far as we know, hasn't come up from its "Titantic Sinking" yet!
2001: "2001 Space Oddity" was the theme and that truly described this event.. as oddity! But that's what is so great about cardboard boats. Each year is unique... each year has a different cast of characters. But please remember, each and every boat built is an original work of art.
2002: Had 61 entries and the winners included such memorable names as "Arc Of The Corrugated" and "Red Wing Shoes Bootleggers"
2003: Had repeat winner "Alpine Hollow Homes" as well as new winners "Old Glory 1 and "Yippy Skippy" amongst the 60 entries
In 2006 we were looking for: Best Construction, Best Lookin' Boat, "Titanic" Sinking, Best Boat Name, Best "Theme", Judges Choice, Goody's
Headache" Award.
