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Pope Regatta inspires fun, creativity

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Mindy Bloem
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  "Boats in the water! Boats in the water!" 

As the master of ceremony gave the command, the contestants of the 2008 Pope Regatta lowered their hand-crafted vessels into the water of the Pope pool July 24. 

Prior to the race, the contestants representing squadrons from all over Pope were given only the bare essentials to create their specially designed boats: five pieces of cardboard and duct tape. The rest of the workmanship would rely solely on their ingenuity and imagination. 

Once the boats were created, two members from the competing squadron boarded these makeshift watercrafts with the end goal being to get to the other end of the pool and back in the fastest time. 

Airman 1st Class Alexandria Toledo, 43rd Force Support Squadron representative and first-time participant in Pope's regatta, enjoyed herself but admitted feeling nervous when first boarding her cardboard boat. 

"I remember getting into the boat and thinking 'how did I get myself into this?' We're going to be the first team to sink," she said. 

As luck would have it, her boat did not sink, although three other squadrons were not so lucky. One of these unfortunate casualties was the 43rd Security Forces Squadron boat which won the "Titanic award." 

Another boat, the 43rd Airlift Wing's design, did not sink but had a close call. 

"We almost sank and ended up in the deep end which is no big deal until you consider Staff Sgt. Rixon Hamilton, one of the passengers, can't swim," said Master Sgt. Michael Crawley, 43rd AW. 

It was great camaraderie. Our boat was really fun to build, he said. The best part was just making people laugh when they saw it for the first time. It was an awesome afternoon. 

Their boat, which boasted "22-inch rims, GPS, compass, phone, 12-inch LCD TV, aerodynamic spoiler and dual exhaust for enhanced performance and navigation and viewing pleasures while on the water," won this year's award for best design. 

Since part of the rules stated that some part of the boat must touch both ends of the pool, some squadrons employed a little strategy during the design process. 

"Our boat was designed to stay afloat, but it was also designed so that we didn't have to turn around," said Airman 1st Class Jonathan Becker, 43rd Medical Support Squadron. 

"The people in the boat could just switch from rowing forwards to backwards, or the other way around." 

It's no wonder why so much effort and planning went in to the design process when considering the winners received $200. Second place received $100, while third place received $50.
Another fun tradition which took place before the start of the race was the annual goofy dive contest. 

Airman 1st Class Miguel Mota, 43rd Logistics Readiness Contest, received the $50 prize for winning the dive contest by dressing up like a fairy, complete with tutu and tiara, and performing a "wacky" dive for all the spectators to see. 

While spectators and competitors seemed to enjoy the frivolity which resulted from Pope's traditional event, some would like to have seen it last a little longer. 

"I thought it was a lot of fun because I didn't participate last year," said Airman 1st Class Quinton Singha, 43rd MDSS. "However, I wasn't happy that it was only one race. I thought the competition was too short." 

Airman Becker would like to see not only a longer event but also a wider variety of competitions. 

"It shouldn't be the fastest boat; there should have been races like a bracket -- maybe a double elimination tournament." He said. "It would be a lot better than just racing your boat one time. There should also be a synchronized swimming contest; it would be really funny." 

Listed below are the 1st through 3rd place winners of the 2008 Pope Regatta: 

31.44 seconds -- 43rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron 

37.44 seconds -- 43rd Logistics Readiness Squadron 

37.50 seconds -- 21st Special Tactics Squadron Radio shop.