Linnie Canal

When I read the story below about the 'America’s Cardboard Cup Regatta', it brought back great memories of the annual summer Linnie Canal race in Venice, CA (near Los Angeles). Entrants would bring their construction material to one end of the canal and have two hours to build their 'boat'. When time expired, the starting gun would sound, with each team using only sail power to race downwind through the canal to the finish.

The channel was narrow, not even 100 feet wide, and the course went under a few low bridges. Spectators lined the sides of the canal, with the most spirited fans on the bridges to douse the racers with all forms of fluid. Some of the savvy racers had fire extinguishers for protection. It was a riot.

Hopefully the current holder of the America’s Cup, the Swiss Alinghi team, does not seek to shut down the 'America’s Cardboard Cup Regatta'. They are very protective of the America’s Cup brand usage, and their lawyers do have some free time right now.

(Crystal Lake, IL) - Between 40 and 50 boaters raced Saturday along Crystal Lake’s Main Beach to join the 25th annual America’s Cardboard Cup Regatta as spectators cheered all ages who designed boats using cardboard, duct tape and creativity. Todd and Lynette Collins came for their fourth year from DeKalb to design three boats. Taking five weeks to build was a Mystery Machine from the Scooby Doo cartoon, proving that vans can float. “This is the one fun thing we do every year,” Lynette Collins said. “We put more into it than cardboard and duct tape.” -- Read on