Contest Leaves Losers All Wet

NEWPORT BEACH — Like a bunch of kids making a paper airplane, the kayaking buddies bent, creased, folded and taped a piece of cardboard into a canoe.

Except this piece of cardboard was as big as a twin-size mattress.

The corrugated boat--complete with a seat, center bars and a drawing of a sea maiden at the bow--began to sink as soon as the 178-pound paddler, Mike Wolfe, sat in it.

“I thought Mike was on a diet,” Rich Wolfe said as his brother struggled to paddle the half-sunken “Pawhuska Brothers” boat, named after a wild river where they destroyed a kayak last year.

Though that boat sprung a leak, four of the other five competing teams successfully crafted buoyant vessels as part of the Paddle Sports Expo ’97 on Saturday at Newport Beach’s Back Bay. Some cardboard boats looked like bathtubs, others like bobsleds, but after the contest, paddlers realized that weight, not appearance, was key.

The three boats ferrying junior high school boys paddled in first, second and third place. A boxcar-looking boat, designed by aerospace engineers, floated ashore in two pieces.

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And the “Pawhuska Brothers” didn’t make it all.

“How embarrassing. We’re being towed in,” said Brea resident Mike Rose, who minutes earlier had been bragging about their aerodynamic boat. “Oh well. This way you can fold it up and put it in your car.”

Twelve-year-old Travis Shephard of San Dimas took first place, though he missed a turn and had to double back around the buoy.

He had designed his torpedo-shaped vessel, named “Eagles,” two months ago for a school project. Molding it, however, proved to be more difficult because the original concept was constructed with paper.

“I’m surprised it didn’t sink,” said Travis, who playfully splashed his competitors as he paddled along.

“It was his idea,” his father, Tom Shephard said. “He’s an origami nut, always making stuff out of paper.”

After the contest, the father-son team tested a couple of the exhibitors’ 200 boats. The prize T-shirt was not enough, Travis was looking to buy a kayak.

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Laura Seager, a park ranger from Lake Mead, had tested a kayak earlier with her 50-pound springer spaniel aboard. She needed to purchase a kayak to patrol the park’s waters, but she wanted one that was compatible for both her and “Otto.”

“He doesn’t really love the water,” said Seager, 40, “but he likes going with me.”

Seager, who sometimes works with kids, said she also attended Saturday’s event to get some tips on cardboard-boat making. She has used the craftsmanship as a teaching tool that incorporates both the rules of physics and navigation.

Though there was little science applied in most of Saturday’s boat constructions--Jim Hill of Rolling Hills just sat on an “X” as his buddies built around him--the boat builders learned one thing for sure.

“We’ll be back,” Rich Wolfe said, kicking his soaked lump of a boat. “Next time, we’re bringing a little kid.”