On Saturday, Riley participated in the culminating event of our last week of creative effort, the Raingutter Regatta. The Regatta is an event for cub scouts that involves using a boat-shaped block of balsa wood, a dowel mast, a plastic sheet for a sail, and a few extra plastic and metal pieces to build a breath-powered boat that can be propelled down the length of a rain gutter filled with water.
The race itself consists of two gutters placed side-by-side, filled half-way with water. Two competitors' boats are placed at one end of the raceway. When the signal is given, each competitor blows on his boat's sail in an attempt to push it toward the finish line. Each scout must use only his breath to push the boat, unless the boat is capsized or stuck, in which case the scout may right or unstick the boat without moving it down the track with his hands. The first boat to arrive at the end of the track wins the heat.
