Good to Know: Calling All Cardboard Boats

By Desiree Parker Sunday, August 15, 2010

When I was a kid, the second-coolest thing to do on a weekend was to use my imagination and build something really cool that I could show off to people.

The first-coolest thing was to somehow do that while playing in the water at the same time.

The Williamsburg Jaycees have come up with a brilliant idea to combine both of those ideas and make some money for a great charity to boot! They’re holding a cardboard boat regatta on Saturday, August 21, in which folks (read: likely kids and their parents) will build fun boats out of cardboard and duct tape and race them on the York River at Yorktown.

I don’t know which will be more fun, watching the boats race, or watching them sink! Either way, it’s bound to be tons of fun for the racers and observers alike. Also, it will raise money and awareness for Big Brothers Big Sisters, a local nonprofit of adult mentors for school-age kids.

I caught up with Greg Granger, a life-long member of the Jaycees, and he said the idea evolved from a meeting where Jaycees were brainstorming ideas. One member suggested a boat race, but those are pretty costly and involve a lot of planning and headaches.

Greg had recently gone camping with his son, and the boys did a cardboard boat race that was tons of fun, and the kids really got a kick out of it.

This is great for the local chapter of the Jaycees. They’re a group whose members are between the ages of 18 and 40, but Granger says the current members are getting closer to the upper age limit in the group and they need some younger folks to join.

“We need to make sure the younger generation knows about the Jaycees,” he says. “I went to Jaycees events with my parents when I was young, and that’s why I became a member.”

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what the Jaycees were until I heard about this race. And if my young son were to see the race, he would think they were the coolest group this side of the Jonas Brothers.

Granger has three kids of his own, and he says, “It’s hard to find things to do on a weekend that are fun and creative.” Looks like he found a winner for next weekend!

The organization has done a lot for this community, including building the first SPCA (which is now the Heritage Humane Society), hosting Red Cross blood drives, hosting a scholarship golf tournament, founding the Williamsburg Christmas Parade, and lots of other things. Read more about them and what they do on the Jaycees' website.

Granger says he thinks the boat race is a good fit for a Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser because it’s an event the mentors can do with their little brother or sister, and might also get adults who participate to think about mentoring, too.

The event will take place at the Watermen’s Museum in Yorktown from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., and there will be live music and food to round out the good time.

If you are already wondering where you can find some extra cardboard, tape, and a pirate costume for dramatic effect, don’t worry – there’s still time to enter your team. Just visit the boat race website for a registration form and some simple rules on how you should make (and propel) your vessel.

The Jaycees decided not to increase the late registration fee, so even though the form says the cost is higher, the Jaycees are only requesting the original $25 fee.

“The more, the merrier!” Granger says.

Who will sink first? That’s what I want to know!