There’s a new Cardboard Boat Regatta in the neighborhood. It’s not new to the world, but it’s new to me. Saturday’s event was the fourth Little Miami Cardboard Boat Regatta to take place at Oeder’s Lake near Zoar, Ohio. It isn’t as big or as old as the New Richmond Cardboard Boat Regatta which will happen for the 26th time next Saturday, but it is a well organized and well attended event that’s filled with fun will likely only get bigger. I’d learned of the regatta just a couple of days ago and decided to attend just a couple of hours before I pulled into the big field beside the lake.

Despite my last minute decision to attend, I was there in time to look over most of the entrants and there were some great ones. Mixing cardboard with a little water seems a natural recipe for creativity.

There were a few vendors on site selling snacks and soft drinks but that was really the only thing to spend money on. There was an entry fee for race participants, but, thanks to several sponsors and the generosity of the Oeder family, everything else was free. That included several bounce houses and other entertainment for kids and a train that ran non-stop and which I never again saw any where near as empty as in the photo.

For me, the pre-race entertainment was a couple of remote control boats sailing around the lake. I spoke with one of the owners and verified that they really are sailing craft. No propellers or motors. The operator controls the rudder and sail angle and hopes for a gentle breeze.

At high noon, the first heat assembled on the dock. Safety rules and, even though the lake is rather shallow, no one is allowed on that dock without a life jacket. As that first heat rounds the first buoy, a rescue boat can be seen in the background. Off to the right, a pair of suited up and ready scuba divers stood at water’s edge.

No one was ever in danger but many were in water. The rescue boat saw plenty of work picking up abandoned boats and pieces of boats.

Most of the events were timed races but the last — and it’s pretty obvious why it’s last — was the Crash Derby. I counted about twenty boats that had survived their races and were ready to rumble. Rules were fairly lax with hitting opponents with paddles just about the only thing strictly forbidden.

Mayhem reigns until just one boat is left upright and then continues. In a lake filled with wet and determined attackers, winning the Crash Derby does not mean surviving it.