Winfield comes out for cardboard boat races

WINFIELD - Will it float?

That was the question on the mind of every competitor at the cardboard boat regatta, on Friday, Aug. 2, commencing the 22nd Annual Winfield Crooked Creek Days at Twin Lakes Country Club. Getting a piece of cardboard to float is not difficult at all. But a boat made of cardboard? That's another story, especially after two people have sat in it for 10 minutes while paddling around the lake.

Visitors to the boat races on the northern lake saw a variety of designs, perhaps none more exotic than that of Peyton Johnson and Jacob Nelson, who navigated the lake in a boat designed like a van. More specifically, it was a 'hippy van,” following this year's Crooked Creek Days theme celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival.

Johnson and Nelson paddled by sticking their oars out the 'windows” of their floating van, which they acknowledged was difficult because they had to hold their oars high. Nevertheless, their design and attention to detail paid off because they were able to win their first heat.

This boat, like all boats, was made entirely of cardboard and duct tape. The two began building it on Wednesday, two days before the race. They hoped to improve on last year's performance, when they were successful in the first heat but sank in the second round.

This year, things were looking good in Round 2 until the boys made their first turn, when their boat began filling with water, making it difficult for them to rotate. As they paddled, the boat took on more and more water until it finally sank about halfway from the finish line.

Despite the soggy ending, the two had a great time, especially since they competed with several friends from a local wrestling team, the Columbus Winfield-Mt. Union Wrestling Club. The club, which includes wrestlers in grades kindergarten through 12th, built several boats used in Friday's races such as those piloted by Johnson and Nelson, Ty and Lane Scorpil and Ryder Rice. The club name is 'Cat Pac,” and that was painted on Johnson and Nelson's hippy van.

The winning cardboard boat was captained by 12-year-old Hunter Jacobs. His older brother, Matthew, is an accomplished cardboard boat racer, and he built Jacobs' boat. In the early stages of its construction, Jacobs was not impressed with his brother's creation, and named it 'The Sinker,” because he was sure that's what it would do on race day.

'At first, it didn't look promising. It started to look better later, but I already picked out the name, and I still thought it was going to sink,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs' mother, Theresa Jacobs, has served on the Crooked Creek Days committee, and she said the cardboard boat races have always kicked off the festival.

'There's always something for everybody to do,” she said.

Winfield natives Gabby Barnes and Alisha Woodsmall were another team, in their first year as competitors.

'We were worried it would take on water,” they said. 'But it only came in when we were paddling and splashing in the water.”

The cardboard boat races were followed by kayak races and then a dance with live music courtesy of the Jared and Nathan Band. Saturday included a pancake breakfast, parade, pony rides, a talent show and a street dance, just to name a few things. The J.R. Hewitt Memorial Car Show was Sunday, and that night the festival ended with a bang courtesy of the Darrell Hewitt Memorial Fireworks show.

Kade Sweezer and Channing Norcross, both nine years old, named their cardboard boat team 'Team Rigby” after one of their favorite cartoon programs. Their fathers - Doug Sweezer and David Norcross - helped them build the boat, which they did in about eight hours. Kade said his brother and sister have already raced with cardboard boats, so he was eager to get his chance.

Doug Sweezer said the thing he's learned over the years in helping his children is to build a boat with 'tight seems and lots of paint.”

Thirteen-year-old Tessa Huston and her niece Alyssa Huston competed with their boat 'Glitter Bomb.” Alyssa's mother, Andi, and Alissa Simmons built the boat two days before the competition. The two said they tried to learn their lesson from last year when they didn't make their boat thick enough and it sank. This year, they guessed they spent '$60 on duct tape.”

Tessa's mother, Jennifer Huston, was chair of Crooked Creek Days for 10 years until finally taking a break from the committee this year.

'People wait all summer for this,” she said. 'This is the town celebration. Winfield natives who now live as far as central Missouri come back for it. In Winfield, everybody knows everybody else by name.”

Jennifer said her favorite part of the weekend is either the cardboard boat race or the fireworks at the end. She said the crowd at Friday's boat races was good but not as large as it has been before, and the number of boats in the competition was down this year.

'Our family usually builds four or five boats, and my son Josh really gets into it. This year, we didn't build anything because we were taking a break,” Jennifer said. 'The last two years, Josh won the ‘big race' with at least four people in the boat. He's 17 now, and he's been doing it since he was five. We have five kids, and they all build boats.”