Regatta History
The first race was proposed to the Nauti-Skippers Boat Club board by Mary Ann Redman, who was their Commodore in 1994. It was accepted by the Board and the membership. The first race had only the Nauti-Skippers participating. The race was well publicized and was attended by a large crowd, many from other boating clubs. After the race, one of the boating clubs, the Merry Mariners, challenged the Nauti-Skippers to see which club could build the fastest boat the following year. The third year the Cardboard Boat race was opened to any boat club in the area. This event was, for several years, organized and conducted by the Nauti-Skippers.
Later a committee, composed of members of participating clubs, was formed and they planned and ran the races. The races were strictly noncommercial and no entry was permitted outside funding or advertising to be used or placed on any boat.
From that humble beginning, the races continued through 2004 with participation limited to boating clubs in the area. As the spectator interest grew and the boating clubs interest waned, more organizations were asking if they could participate in this fun event. In each the past three years, the races drew over 2000 spectators to the Yacht Club Beach to view the event.
In 2004, the Cardboard Boat Race Committee decided it was time to turn the event over to a local service organization that could expand the event, open it up to more participants, and make some money for local charities.
The Rotary Club of Cape Coral accepted the challenge and in doing so, made some changes. The first change was to rename the event to the Cape Coral Cardboard Boat Regatta. The Regatta was then moved out of the hot weather in July, and will be held in May at Seahawk Park in North Cape Coral. The move from the Yacht Club Beach was necessary to be able to expand the Regatta and make it easier for spectators to find ample parking without the need for a shuttle from a remote location.
In 2009 the Regatta was moved to a more central location at Four Freedoms Park in downtown Cape Coral. We are hoping this central location will make it easier for more people to attend the event.
The Regatta is open to participation from businesses, schools, youth groups, groups of friends, and non-profit organizations desiring to build a boat and participate. This is a wonderful team-building experience; giving employees an opportunity to work together toward a common goal and have a lot of fun doing it.
The Cape Coral Cardbaord Boat Regatta is prodly presented by: The Rotary Club of Cape Coral.
