Raingutter Regatta

Saturday was a very busy Scouting day for Cub Scout Pack 220. We had two big events scheduled. The first was Scouting for Food. This is an annual event in which Cub Scouts and Boys Scout all over the U.S. go through their local neighborhoods to collect non-perishable food items for local food banks. Pack 220 collected 300 bags of food which we donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank. It was a great experience for all of the boys. It was their opportunity to put into action several of the values that Scouting teaches (ie. courteous, kind, helpful, loyal, cheerful, and reverent).
The second event of the day was the Raingutter Regatta. For this event each boy/sibling makes a boat that they then race down a length of raingutter filled with water. The kids propel the boats by blowing into the back of the sail. It is fun to watch and a very competitive event for the kids.
My scouts, the Webelos II's, are the oldest boys in the Pack and most of them are very experienced Raingutter Regatta racers. You could really see their boat building and racing experience come through this year. They ran some good races and it took quiet a few heats to finally come up with a winner.

The sisters of the Webelos II den were ready to race too. Most of these girls have several years of Raingutter racing experience, just like their brothers. They ran some good races and they all had a great time!

CJ was very determined to win a medal this year. We (with a lot of help from Grandpa G.) worked hard on the boat this year. We have learned a few tricks in our 4 years of racing. This year we kept the boat design very simple, made the boat nice and smooth so it would glide through the water, and added a Yankees logo for some extra luck.

In the end hard work, determination, and a strong desire to win paid off. CJ won first place in the Webelos II division. We were also very proud of two other Webelos II den members for winning design awards. Colin won "Most Seaworthy" for his Navy Battleship and Gabe won "Most Original Design" for his King Neptune themed boat. Congratulations to all of the boys on a great day!!!