Cardboard Boat Regatta

The Cardboard Boat Regatta is one of most fun and wackiest of the Cape Coral festivals.

It takes place on April 16, 2022 at it's new location at Seahawk Park, 1030 NW 28th St.

On Saturday, the regatta begins at 10AM and go until about 3PM.

Raindate is Sunday.

The festival is free but expect to pay a small donation for parking. Don't forget to bring lawn chairs or a blanket, hats and sunscreen.

You can even vote for your favorite boat, awards are given at a final ceremony after the races.

And yes, the boats are really made out of cardboard ...... and a lot of paint!

Some of them barely made it through the finish line .... but most of them were surprisingly quite seaworthy .... or at least strong enough for the short zig-zaggy race course.

Teams of families, youth groups, individuals, clubs, organizations, and employees can all participate in the fun.

There were small boats made by kids all the way up to larger, fancier ones.

Two boats raced at a time for each heat. My favorite race was between a boat called the Ragin' Cajun and FGCU's - Florida Gulf Coast University's - engineering department.

Ragin' Cajun's team was sporting long hair and overalls while FGCU wore Viking garb, and I heard they used coats and coats of liquid nails to waterproof their boat.

Watch the video below to find out who won, FGCU is the Viking boat with the blue and white striped sail:

You can also challenge friends and neighbors to race you by using cardboard boats provided by the Cape Coral Rotary Club.

The festival has food, crafts, and t-shirt vendors, a children's playground and blow-up slide.

For instructions on how to build a cardboard boat, find out race results, and get more information, go to the Cape Coral Cardboard Boat Regatta website.