Students from Richfield's Sheridan Hills Elementary School shoved off from Southwest Minneapolis' Thomas Beach on Sunday in two craft of unlikely construction. The S.S. Yum Yum II and the Babe The Blue Ox were made entirely of empty paper milk cartons.
And they didn't just stay afloat. They raced across the lake under paddle-power in the annual Minneapolis Aquatennial Milk Carton Boat Races, and came home with an award from race judges.
Babe's team of sailors took home the creativity award, as students armed paddles with ax heads and dressed like Paul Bunyan. Unfortunately, S.S. Yum Yum II ran into a little trouble. The boat's predecessor, S.S. Yum Yum, won the Lieutenant's Race last year and the team was looking to keep the title.
"Yum Yum got blocked by an out of control boat going off course, so we didn't do well in the other race," Sheila Johnston, a gifted education teacher who helped students build the boats, said. "But kids had fun!"
While both races weren't wins, the well-crafted boats survived with no loss.
"We didn't lose one milk carton and both boats held together for the whole race!" Johnston said.
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If you made it out to the races Sunday, add your photos of the events to our gallery of the sand castles and boat races on Sunday!
Anna Schier
12:51 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Wow, how nifty! Congrats to the captains of Babe The Blue Ox and The S.S. Yum Yum II!