Plywood-and-Duct-Tape Vessels Compete in Wacky ‘Minimal Regatta’ - Keys Video Advisory

Story: Plywood-and-Duct-Tape Vessels Compete in Wacky ‘Minimal Regatta’
Locator Super: Key West, Fla.
Video: Video to match this story has been uploaded to FTP servers. Footage is also available on the Florida Keys News Bureau's FTP server (download details below) or can be downloaded via Google Drive link here. B-roll of boat teams competing in regatta.
TRT: 2:20
Filename: KeyWestWackyBoats.mp4
Video source: Florida Keys News Bureau

KEY WEST, Fla. — A Memorial Day weekend tradition in Key West was staged Sunday afternoon as intrepid “mariners” tried to stay afloat in vessels made of thin plywood and duct tape Sunday afternoon, during the Schooner Wharf Minimal Regatta.

Rules of the event, now in its 33rd year, required each team to build a boat out of a single sheet of 4-by-8-foot plywood, two 8-foot-long 2-by-4s, a 60-yard roll of duct tape and a pound of fasteners.

Even caulking the boats was forbidden, though team costumes were encouraged. As a packed crowd of spectators cheered them on, the boats’ “designated captains” attempted steer the regatta’s short course in the Key West Historic Seaport faster than their rivals — without overturning or sinking.

Standout entries included a miniature pirate ship with a mermaid figurehead and a tiny Titanic replica that quickly capsized.

Prizes were awarded for the fastest boats, most creative designs, best paint jobs, best costumes and sportsmanship — as well as the dreaded “sinker” awards recognizing the least-seaworthy vessel.

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