The Great Cardboard Regatta

Every September, the lake in our town hosts a cardboard boat race. The rules are simple: you can only use cardboard, duct tape and paint, and you have to paddle across the lake and back without sinking.

My daughter and I spent three weekends building a boat in the garage. We named it The Soggy Dragon and painted it green with orange scales and a long neck made of paper towel tubes. My daughter, who is nine, designed it. I was in charge of duct tape.

On race day, there were forty boats: pirate ships, a giant shoe, a floating taco, a replica of the Titanic, which everyone agreed was a bold choice. The crowd lined the shore with picnic blankets.

The Soggy Dragon made it about two-thirds of the way across before it started to fold in half. We kept paddling as it sank, slowly, cheering for ourselves. A man in a rescue kayak pulled us out laughing.

We won the award for "Most Dramatic Sinking." It's a small plastic trophy shaped like a life preserver. My daughter put it on her nightstand.