Andrew got to participate in the Raingutter Regatta last week for pack meeting. After the fiasco that was the Pinewood Derby, I was determined to learn all I could about performing well at the raingutter regatta.
My first mistake?
We didn't seal the trimaran until, oh, six hours before the races began. .... Did you know that polyurethane is supposed to cure for 24 hours before normal use???
I didn't.
Weeks ago, Andrew brought home his trimaran kit and put his trimaran together without painting it or anything. And, over the weekend we were so busy with extended family that I didn't even think about getting his trimaran ready.
On Tuesday morning, I started to look online for tips and tricks to preparing the trimaran well. Everything said to put the polyurethane on the pontoons at least 24 hours before the Regatta.
Oops.
We only had a few hours before our regatta.
Oh well. I took Andrew into the garage and we started painting the polyurethane onto the pontoons of his trimaran. Then, I guided him in spray painting the main body and sail. (Yes, I cut the tape and placed it on the sail for him .... I'm too much of a perfectionist. But, he told me what he wanted, and I let him paint it.) Once the polyurethane had been on the pontoons for two hours, we spray painted them. Then, we screwed and glued everything together. I just prayed it wouldn't absorb the water and sink.
I took Andrew aside and explained that he needed to use long sustained breaths, and to blow in the center of his sail in an upward direction to get his trimaran to skim across the top of the water instead of through it. (Thanks to my internet research, this tip totally worked!)
Then, we went to the church for the Regatta. We were late, but he still got checked in. Then he began his races. They split up the dens and they raced the dens by themselves. In Andrew's den, he only lost once! Which put him in first place in his den, and subsequently moved him into the finals!
Then, the finalists raced ... there are two Wolf dens, so there were four finalists ... and they were all Andrew's friends (two from our homeschool group who are brothers, and one of Andrew's friend's older brother who he's played with before). Andrew was nervous racing against his friends. But, before the race, he exclaimed, "I hope I get first place!" I tried to get him to focus on only doing his best, but to no avail. He was determined to get first place.
All four boys raced, and two boys lost twice, and two boys lost once. So, they did timed races to break the ties. First the two boys tied for 3rd and 4th places sailed their trimarans down the rain gutter and came up with times in the 9-10 second range. Then, Andrew and his friend sailed their trimarans down ... and they both tied with a time of 8.6 seconds! Unbelievable! So, they had to do it again! Andrew's friend went first with a time of 9.7, then Andrew blew down his trimaran with a time of 8.4!!!
Andrew won the Raingutter Regatta over all! It was an amazing turn of events compared to the pinewood derby in March! I was so pleased with Andrew's performance ... and I love that the Raingutter Regatta isn't just a race by chance ... the boys actually have to blow their trimarans/boats down the waterway, so there is some skill in the racing. What I think made me most pleased was Andrew's actions toward one of this best friends in his den. This friend only won one race. Andrew was so kind and tried so hard to cheer him up. He went so far as to give his friend his medal. He is such a sweet boy, so loving and caring. It was an amazing night for our boy!
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