Just add cardboard ... and duct tape
<p>At left, Otto Wallin, 9, and Brennan Taft, 10 abandon their cardboard boat "Sink or Swim" on Saturday during the KIDS Camp Cardboard Boat Regatta at Independence Point. Teams had one hour to build a boat out of cardboard and duct tape, then race for a chance to win prizes and trophies.</p>
<p>Gunner Nickerson, 13, left, and Ryan Hanna, 13, of the Cuban Monkeys finished first in the first annual KIDS Camp Cardboard Boat Regatta at the Coeur d’Alene City beach on Saturday afternoon. Each team had one hour to put together a boat made of cardboard and duct tape.</p>
<p>Gunner Nickerson, 13, right, and Conner Conigliaro, 14, make their boat in preparation for the first annual KIDS Camp Cardboard Boat Regatta at the City Beach in downtown Coeur d’Alene.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Focused and determined, Connor Conigliaro, 14, applied more duct tape to the cardboard. He and his teammates conjectured, pondered and considered possible designs to enhance their boat. Through the hour of scheming and building, Connor knew what kind of cardboard watercraft he and his friends were building.
"The kind that floats," he said.
Connor, Ryan Hanna, 13, and Gunnar Nickerson, 13, all of Coeur d'Alene, succeeded in making a cardboard boat that not only floated but carried their team, the "Cuban Monkeys," to victory at the first-ever KIDS Camp Cardboard Boat Regatta at City Beach on Saturday.
"We had no plan going into this and we pretty much winged it the whole way," Ryan said. "It's been a little frustrating, but it's been pretty good."
The frustration and challenge of building the boat out of minimal supplies in just one hour paid off as the "Cuban Monkeys" sailed ahead of the other five teams to the turnaround and zipped right back to shore, winning them the Race Winner award.
It was a lighthearted sight as grownups and children worked together to create cardboard boats that could sail 75 feet out from shore and return without sinking. Each team had different ideas and designs, such as the boat created by the "Dolphin Destiny" team.
"Our 7-year-old daughters named our boat," said Emily Dishman of Coeur d'Alene.
She said she conducted Internet research about how to properly build a cardboard craft and the goal of the sleek, elongated "Dolphin" was to have a small bottom and tall sides.
"I Googled our weight and figured out what size we needed," she said. "I figured out what we needed as far as capacity. We wanted a flat bottom. My people confirmed, flat bottom, best idea."
The Cardboard Boat Regatta was sponsored by the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce as a fundraiser for KIDS (Knowledge Independence Direction Success) Camp, which is a program dedicated to decreasing the lack of reading and loss of knowledge that happens to students in the summer, known as the "summer slide."
With more than 60 participants, assistants and passersby stopping to enjoy the spectacle, Greta Gissel said the regatta is sure to return next summer.
"It's amazing," she said with a giggle. "We took on the event about two weeks ago. And so far, so amazing. Next year, our structure will be a tiny bit different, but we're definitely going to a cardboard regatta."
Gissel and Elva Allan are KIDS Camp directors and were present to run the event and ensure everything went accordingly.
"For us, it's been hands-down, all community," Allan said. "It's all volunteer, all donations, all of it. When it comes to kids, people will open their wallets, they will make time in their busy lives, they will get down here and find a way to support and get the help we need to get to these kids."
The Coeur d'Alene Fire Department and Kootenai County Sheriff's Office were also onsite for safety reasons, although Sgt. Stu Miller had a good chuckle watching the event (and wet card board) unfold.
"People take their boats real seriously when they get into it," he said. "It's amazing what a little cardboard and duct tape can do: Bring a lot of joy to a lot of people."
Info: www.kidscampcda.com