Cardboard Yacht Regatta: Annenberg Tradition

Teams will attempt to row their creative cardboard vessels across the Annenberg Community Beach House pool.

Ever read a book in the bathtub, only to find that your soap-slicked fingertips didn't grasp onto its covers very well? And, plunk, in it went, straight into the sudsy water?

Or have you dropped a paper towel in a sink, only to watch what happens to it the instant it meets H2O?

Well... paper towels and book pages aren't the same thing as corrugated cardboard, of course, but we can definitely say that some items are meant for floating and some items are not.

But that won't stop the plucky, innovative, ingenuity-minded teams competing in the annual Cardboard Yacht Regatta at the Annenberg Community Beach House pool on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 26.

The summertime spectacle is all about teamwork — there are two people to a boat — and those teams will attempt to cross the swimming pool in a sea-worthy vessel made of "...only corrugated cardboard and duct tape."

Hold on. Perhaps "sea-worthy" isn't the exact term, but rather "pool-worthy." Yes. Better.

No motors are allowed — all boats should be "human-powered" — but if you're not up to the challenge, note that playing a spectator, rather than a competitor, is allowed and encouraged.

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After all, people need to be nearby to cheer on these brave, pool-crossing adventurers. Cheering sections help move boats, we think, or want to think, at least.

Those pool-crossing adventurers won't only be busy rowing, but also keeping an eye on how that corrugated cardboard forming the hull of their boat is holding up, stroke by stroke.

Kids 8 and up can compete, it is fifteen bucks to join, and registration is still open, and will be, through end of day on Aug. 25 (or nearly end of day, with registration closing at two minutes to midnight).

Can you and your crew put together a whimsical, water-ready ship for this summer showdown? Find inspiration, if you'd like, with the cardboard yacht currently on display at the Santa Monica landmark.

It's the Oneida, a cardboard creation based on William Randolph Hearst's yacht, and Kiel Johnson is the artist who helmed its fantastical fabrication. It's on display, at the Annenberg Community Beach House, so check it out in the days to come, before a series of made-at-home, made-with-love, made-to-float cardboard boats take to the famous pool on the property.

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