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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...ae402304314.txt

Many sink, few swim

The USS Owen Posse waits to compete in the third heat of Saturday’s Cardboard Boat Dash at Washington Park Marina. Photo by Amanda Jacobson
26 of 29 entries don’t stay afloat in Cardboard Boat Dash
By Amanda Jacobson
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, July 10, 2011 5:08 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Members of team USS Owen Posse stood around their 25-foot battleship-style boat Saturday, awaiting their turn to paddle in the Cardboard Boat Dash.

The highly detailed cardboard ship was built by J.J. Owen, a young Army reservist who has always loved to build things, his mother, Julie, said. J.J. left for basic training one week ago, so his three brothers floated the watercraft in his honor.

“Since my kids aren’t in the water that much except for swimming, I’m not sure how it’ll go today,” she said. “The boat’s pretty heavy, so I’m thinking it might sink. But we did it for fun today, not necessarily for the prizes.”

The Cardboard Boat Dash, part of Michigan City Summer Festival, was sponsored by Captain Ed’s Candy Island and Coffee Cove, and the Michigan City Port Authority.

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Boats of every color, shape and size competed in initial heats to determine who went on to compete for first-, second- and third-place honors in either the children’s Crackerjack Class or the adult’s Salty Dog Class.

Cardboard boats and their teams lined up at the edge of the harbor while Captain Ed gave play-by-play commentary of each qualifying race.

Awards were given at the end of the event to winners of each class along with specialty awards.

In the Crackerjack Class, first place went to Noah Carter of La Porte. First place went to the U.S.S. Aero in the Salty Dog Class.

The following specialty awards were given: Master of Disaster — B&E Marine for “Best Sinking”; Teen Spirit — Team Noah’s Ark of New Prairie; Corrugation Ovation — U.S.S. Aero for best use of materials; Coolest Boat — U.S.S. Owen Posse for its detailed design and removable battleship deck.

Ed Beutner, also known as The Commodore of Corrugation and Captain Ed, said the race had 29 boats, of which 26 sank into the harbor.

His favorite part of the day was seeing all the variety and talent of groups that competed.

“I just enjoy the creativity that goes into some of the boats and the amount of work that has been put into them,” he said. “You can see how much work goes into them, and they are definitely crowd favorites.”