{"id":4977,"date":"2024-08-18T14:35:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-18T14:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=4977"},"modified":"2024-08-18T15:05:20","modified_gmt":"2024-08-18T15:05:20","slug":"fools-rules-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/fools-rules-regatta\/fools-rules-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Fools Rules History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>25 YEARS OF FOOLISHNESS:\u00a0 THE FOOLS&#8217; RULES REGATTA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 1978, <strong>Karl Smith<\/strong> proposed holding an unusual sailing event to fellow Jamestown Taxpayers Association members to help celebrate Jamestown&#8217;s tricentenial.\u00a0 He had heard of a build-your-own-vessel regatta in California, and thought it might be fun to try here.\u00a0 The original committee included <strong>Dick Boenning, Cliff Chappel, Travis Coxe, Trudy Coxe, Martha Greig, Tom Greig, Kitty Grimes, Dick Miner, Ed Morhino, Forrest Pease, Win Reed<\/strong>, and<strong> Bruce Wigton<\/strong>, and of course, <strong>Karl<\/strong> <strong>Smith<\/strong>.\u00a0 The rules were clear: no traditional marine items could be used, the vessel must be wind-powered, and conventional life jackets were <u>not allowed<\/u> (this rule was later changed).\u00a0 The official rules were cleverly written by Karl and have remained virtually unchanged through the years.\u00a0 There were four classes (1, 2, 3, and 4 person crews), and there was a limit of 10 boats per class.\u00a0 The committee screened the applicants for &#8220;good faith and competent quality,&#8221; according to Karl.\u00a0 There were 16 entrants that first year, and the event was covered on the front page of the <u>Standard Times<\/u> the week after.\u00a0 In his report to the Taxpayers Association Karl boasted a successful event and proudly noted that the beach was left as clean after the regatta as it was before.\u00a0 An overwhelming decision was made to hold the regatta the next year.\u00a0 The <strong>John Biddle<\/strong> family&#8217;s &#8220;Kitchen Sink&#8221; won the &#8220;Most Spectacular Boat&#8221; award.\u00a0 The &#8220;Snoozer Cruiser,&#8221; was made from a bed &#8220;because that was all that was in the attic,&#8221; according to <strong>Don Cloud,<\/strong> who along with <strong>Jack Whitaker<\/strong> skippered the vessel.<\/p>\n<p>In 1979 the regatta was moved to Potter&#8217;s Cove because raw sewage was being dumped at East Ferry.\u00a0 <strong>Mrs. Curtis Fischer <\/strong>made a poster, as well as a banner, which hung downtown.\u00a0 A radio interview took place on WEAN publicizing the regatta.\u00a0 A miniature cannon announced the beginning of each race, and shouts of &#8220;shark&#8221; and &#8220;hurricane&#8221; were heard amid the commotion.\u00a0 There were 17 entrants, including the &#8220;Snoozer Cruiser&#8221; which added a second sail to last year&#8217;s design and won the award for the &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture.&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Breaking Wind&#8221; with <strong>Steve Froberg, Rick Santos<\/strong>, and <strong>George Sisson<\/strong>, was one of the more unusual designs, winning the &#8220;Most Spectacular Vessel&#8221; award, although it eventually sank.\u00a0 The design was a bathroom, complete with fixtures, with the crew on board shaving and bathing, and the helmsman sitting on the toilet.\u00a0 One of the crew of the &#8220;Honey Pot,&#8221; architect <strong>Bill Burgin,<\/strong> described his vessel as a &#8220;South Seas design,&#8221; complete with ladder, lumber, and trashcans.\u00a0 Other crew were wife <strong>Dinny<\/strong>, and friends, <strong>Bar and Nick Wharton<\/strong>.\u00a0 Ribbons were given out to the winners for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>1980 brought the new rule requiring that life jackets be worn by each crewmember due to a near-disaster the previous year.\u00a0 The regatta was also returned to East Ferry to allow for more space.\u00a0 Seventeen vessels participated.\u00a0 For the first time the event was covered on two TV news programs.\u00a0 <strong>Kathy Scott<\/strong> (now <strong>Sylvia<\/strong>) won the &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture&#8221; because her boat sank.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chris Powell <\/strong>took over from <strong>Karl Smith<\/strong> as &#8220;Chief Fool&#8221; in 1981.\u00a0 Thirty-seven boats entered the competition, and a record number of spectators were on hand to watch the merriment.\u00a0 Because of the number of larger vessels with many crews, an Unlimited class was formed for vessels with 5 or more crewmembers.\u00a0 One of the most unusual entries was &#8220;A Bunch of Fruits&#8221; with <strong>George Sisson, Rick Santos, Steve Froberg, and Larry<\/strong> <strong>Smith, <\/strong>fashioned after the Fruit of the Loom fellows.\u00a0 Special permission had to be obtained to use the design.\u00a0 National Geographic <strong>World<\/strong> magazine covered the regatta, thanks to Diana Smith (Karl\u2019s wife and former publicity chair) who contacted the magazine the year before.\u00a0 A new banner, lasting many years, was made from a sail by Aaron Jasper, who was then with North Sails in Newport.<\/p>\n<p>1982 boasted 38 entrants.\u00a0 &#8220;Evening Magazine&#8221; (a TV newsmagazine in Boston) covered the event, and the reporters had a lot of fun and sent a nice thank-you letter.\u00a0 <strong>Fred Pease<\/strong> (former Town Council president) captured an award aboard &#8220;Kontiki.&#8221;\u00a0 <strong>Victor Richardson<\/strong> (the same <u>Press<\/u> photographer) won an award for his design, &#8220;Big Wheel,&#8221; and <strong>Dr. Robert Kinder <\/strong>won &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture&#8221; for his &#8220;I.V. Queen.&#8221; Participants and guests celebrated with lunch at the Bay Voyage Inn.<\/p>\n<p>One of the more unusual designs in 1983 was <strong>Mary Bonert&#8217;s<\/strong> (now <strong>Mary Webster<\/strong>) design using pickle pails from <strong>Fuzzy Andreozzi&#8217;s<\/strong> Sandwich Stop (located where the Oyster Bar is now).\u00a0 8400 slices of pickles were estimated to have been eaten to empty the 28 pails needed!\u00a0 &#8220;Bag O Wind&#8221; with skipper, <strong>Al Lopes<\/strong>, made its debut and took 1<sup>st<\/sup> place in Class 3, and credited its win to having lightweight kids as crew.\u00a0 &#8220;Snoozer Cruiser&#8221; had its first victory, which <strong>Don Cloud<\/strong> claimed was because he had his lighter-weight son on board rather than his usual adult partner.\u00a0 One report said that at times there were more heads bobbing in the water than on top of the boats. This year the National Geographic <u>World<\/u> magazine article was published, with a great story and lots of wonderful colored pictures\u00a0 The &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture\u201d award recipient was &#8220;Pave the Bay,&#8221; with <strong>Steve Froberg<\/strong> and crew.<\/p>\n<p>1984&#8217;s regatta was sponsored for the first time by the Jamestown Fools&#8217; Rules Regatta Committee comprised of those who had helped with the event in previous years.\u00a0 There were 31 registrants, and second and third place winners were given Fools&#8217; Rules Regatta tee shirts.\u00a0 The local press gave the regatta front-page coverage.\u00a0 A new buoyancy technique tried this year was the use of helium balloons.\u00a0 One reporter observed that most spectators for this race gather at the starting line, rather than the finish line, the usual preferred spot for most sailing events because so few actually cross the finish line.\u00a0 A duel ensued in the Unlimited class resulting in a tie for first place.\u00a0 The &#8220;Flywood Plyer,&#8221; skippered by <strong>Fred Pease<\/strong> had a 40-foot tree for a mast, and an olympic-sized swimming pool cover for a sail.\u00a0 The crew claimed they sailed their vessel to Newport and around Castle Hill after the regatta.\u00a0 Another boat&#8217;s design caused one spectator to ask,&#8221;Which end is the bow?&#8221;\u00a0 The answer, &#8220;Whichever end moves the fastest!&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Most Ingenious Design this year:&#8221; <strong>Victor Richardson&#8217;s<\/strong> &#8220;Jet Star III,&#8221; and &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture:&#8221; <strong>Scott Fielding <\/strong>in &#8220;New Age Tri-tube.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The regatta in 1985 was dubbed a &#8220;Year of the Ocean&#8221; event, thanks to <strong>Representative Claudine Schneider<\/strong>.\u00a0 A record 39 boats participated, and the beach was described as a &#8220;monstrous tool box and playpen.&#8221;\u00a0 Controversy arose when MERL II had a passenger dog on board, which nearly disqualified the boat from Class 3.\u00a0 Skipper <strong>Peter Sampou <\/strong>admitted (off camera) that the dog&#8217;s job was to paddle on the other side of the boat out of sight from the judges, and said that the dog was <u>definitely<\/u> a key factor.\u00a0 Due to light wind and vessel design, the Class 1 race took longer than the actual construction time.\u00a0 Tee shirts were sold for the first time to cover costs of awards and publicity and to raise money to sustain the event.\u00a0 The shirts were so popular, they have been sold every year since.\u00a0 The &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture&#8221; was won by the &#8220;S.S. Wedgie.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>1986 brought only 20 entrants to the event, but they were original.\u00a0 <strong>Sarah Loats, Liza Roach<\/strong>, and <strong>Bunty Burgin<\/strong> aboard &#8220;New Wave&#8221; had an advantage over their adult competitors because their total weight was reported to be equal to just one of the adult crew members of another boat.<\/p>\n<p>1987 was the year of the 10th annual celebration of the regatta.\u00a0 Twenty-seven boats participated, and all crewmembers were given &#8220;I&#8217;M A 10th YEAR FOOL&#8221; button.\u00a0 Chief Fool, Chris Powell&#8217;s unusual nautical outfit of mismatched socks, and other strange attire made him look like an escapee from &#8220;Gilligan&#8217;s Island.&#8221;\u00a0 <strong>Don Cloud<\/strong> and <strong>Jack Whitaker<\/strong> were dubbed the most senior fools, having been the only team to enter each year.\u00a0 When asked why they continue to race, Cloud&#8217;s answer was, &#8220;I guess we&#8217;re just fools!&#8221;\u00a0 Eleven year old <strong>Mike Jacquard<\/strong> was nearly late to the starting line because he constructed his boat from leftover materials from other vessels &#8211; obviously left over for a reason, since Mike&#8217;s boat sank!!\u00a0 A newlywed couple hopped into a tub with an umbrella as a sail, as an example of the description of the boats as &#8220;anything but sleek and polished.&#8221;\u00a0 One newspaper touted the boats as &#8220;barely seaworthy&#8221; and the crew as &#8220;fools.&#8221;\u00a0 <strong>Tina Morgan<\/strong> and her father <strong>Hal<\/strong> built their boat from hay bales. &#8220;We&#8217;re from Exeter, Hal explained, &#8220;we have to keep up the country image.&#8221;\u00a0 The question of hay&#8217;s buoyancy was soon answered as the vessel actually floated until it became so heavy with water that it succumbed.\u00a0 <strong>Bud Fischer<\/strong> had &#8220;visions of becoming a star&#8221; as crew of &#8220;Chicken of the Sea,&#8221; a wish borne out as the vessel finished first in the Unlimited Class.\u00a0 Local resident, opthamologist, <strong>Bob Kinder<\/strong>, used 100 inflated blood bags as flotation in his &#8220;I.V.Queen.&#8221;\u00a0 A Challenge Race was held for previous years&#8217; winners and &#8220;Bomber Charger&#8221; with <strong>Patience, Joshua, and Jeremiah Leonard<\/strong> won hands down.<\/p>\n<p>1988 brought <strong>Spike Webb<\/strong> from California as a visitor to grandparents <strong>June and Keith Webb<\/strong> and skipper of one of the 30 boats entered.\u00a0 Class 1 had to be restarted due to lack of wind, but eventually <strong>Spike <\/strong>aboard &#8220;Silver Bullet&#8221; crossed the line in first place.\u00a0 The &#8220;Most Ingenious Design&#8221; went to <strong>Jeff D&#8217;Amico&#8217;s<\/strong> &#8220;S.S.Minnow,&#8221; and the &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture&#8221; went to <strong>Frank Newman&#8217;s <\/strong>(former President of URI) &#8220;Freudian Sloop.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>1989 brought more fun antics from the 32 vessels.\u00a0 The crew of &#8220;Almost Home,&#8221; <strong>Kim Walsh<\/strong> and <strong>Sarah Neronha<\/strong> had to be towed ashore, but vowed to return!!\u00a0 A northerly breeze wreaked havoc with many of the boats, sending them into the mooring field or capsizing them.\u00a0 <strong>Karen Knudsen <\/strong>thought she had a clever idea, but, alas, her boat MELTED. You see, the hull was made of four 300-pound blocks of ice that melted as soon as they hit the 70-degree water!!\u00a0 For that, she received the &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture&#8221; award.\u00a0 A local newspaper reported after the regatta of 1990 that Jamestown survived another &#8220;assault by an armada of fools.&#8221;\u00a0 Those fools were on board 39 vessels.\u00a0 The Jamestown Yacht Club began sponsoring the event this year.\u00a0 Half of the proceeds from the sale of the tee shirts was donated to a children&#8217;s charity or activity determined by the regatta committee.\u00a0 This tradition has continued since.\u00a0 The crew on some of the boats was so numerous there was barely enough room on the boats.<\/p>\n<p>The 1991 regatta had 25 entrants, and what a motley lot they were.\u00a0 <strong>Todd Russell<\/strong> of Newport wore a linen suit to counter the &#8220;ugliness&#8221; of his vessel made from an old truck cab.\u00a0 <strong>Tim Broekema<\/strong> and <strong>Molly McCoy<\/strong> dressed as bride and groom with a wedding party as their crew.\u00a0 They boarded their vessel to the tune of the &#8220;Wedding March.&#8221;\u00a0 The Jamestown Press ran a great human-interest story on Fools&#8217; Rules Regatta founder, <strong>Karl<\/strong> <strong>Smith<\/strong> and the beginnings of the regatta.\u00a0 <strong>Karl<\/strong>&#8216;s background as a mechanical engineer and his lifelong interest in machines spurred his desire to create the regatta.<\/p>\n<p>1992 was described by publicity chair, <strong>Candy Powell <\/strong>as being an unusual year because many of the boats actually sailed.\u00a0 <strong>Colby and Galen Nelson<\/strong>, crew on one of the 33 entrants, came all the way from Glenallen, Alaska.\u00a0 <strong>David Weyerman<\/strong> of Wickford credited numerology for his win in Class 3.\u00a0 His sail cost $15, his vessel was #15, and it was the 15th year of the regatta.\u00a0 <strong>John Matson<\/strong>, from Tiverton, a butcher by trade, used Perdue chicken boxes, netting him 3rd place in his division.\u00a0 &#8220;Bag-A-Wind,&#8221; with skipper <strong>Al Lopes<\/strong>, returned for the 9th year.\u00a0 <strong>Kathy Brownell&#8217;s <\/strong>crew on &#8220;Damsels in Distress&#8221; was heard shouting &#8220;Help, help&#8221; as they sailed by.\u00a0 Amid shouts of &#8220;bring the cup to Jamestown in 1997,&#8221; Chief Fool, Powell, shot back,&#8221;This <u>is<\/u> the cup.\u00a0 <strong>Dennis Connor<\/strong> would give up everything he owns to be here!&#8221;\u00a0 Little did he know that by 1996 Dennis Connor was racing <u>real<\/u> boats in the Jamestown Yacht Club racing series!!\u00a0 <strong>Kathy Brownell&#8217;s<\/strong> crew of &#8220;Damsels in Distress&#8221; won the Judges Award for best overall theme.\u00a0 &#8220;The Ark&#8221; won the award for the &#8220;Most Ingenious Design.&#8221;`<\/p>\n<p>1993 brought out a record number of 44 boats, and again, Chris was dressed in his &#8220;unique yachtsman garb&#8221; as he shouted encouragement to the crew as he strolled the beach.\u00a0 The Judges&#8217; Award was given for the first time to the vessel with the best theme overall.\u00a0 <strong>Al D&#8217;Amico<\/strong> with his crew of &#8220;And Too Too&#8221; was heard shouting &#8220;pass the wrench, wench,&#8221; undoubtedly to the chagrin of some women spectators.\u00a0 10 year old <strong>Tiffany Spencer <\/strong>didn&#8217;t decide until the morning of the event to call her friend, <strong>Katherine Swistak<\/strong>, to see if she wanted to enter a boat.\u00a0 <strong>Frank Newman&#8217;s<\/strong> family has made a tradition out of designing and building a boat each year.\u00a0 He described the process as very structured: they decide on a theme and vote in a &#8220;very democratic fashion.&#8221;\u00a0 Son<strong> Peter<\/strong>, however, said it was more &#8220;chaotic&#8221; than democratic.\u00a0 A crewmember on the Unlimited Class winning entry, <strong>Elizabeth D&#8217;Amico<\/strong> noted her surprise at winning the class because &#8220;we had one person caught between two sails the whole time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Blue skies were abundant in 1994 for the 39 entrants who came from as far away as England.\u00a0 <strong>Jonathan Stoeckle<\/strong> said he was.\u00a0 Political themes this year included &#8220;Health Reform&#8221; and &#8220;For Sale: Arkansas This Way&#8221; with an arrow pointing down.\u00a0 Chris Powell was described in a local newspaper as &#8220;foolishly dressed,&#8221; a contrast for the &#8220;otherwise mild-mannered Conservation Commissioner.&#8221;\u00a0 Founder <strong>Karl Smith\u2019s quote of the day<\/strong>, &#8220;for 17 years this has been an island standard.&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Most Ingenious Design:&#8221; &#8220;Mighty Duck,&#8221; <strong>Joe Allard<\/strong>, &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture:&#8221; &#8220;Class Act&#8221; with <strong>Jeff<\/strong> <strong>D&#8217;Amico<\/strong>, and Judges&#8217; Award: &#8220;Penguins in Distress,&#8221; with <strong>Kathy Brownell.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 1995, in spite of the regatta this year being on the heels of hurricane Felix, crew again came from as far away as England to be included in the 32 entries.\u00a0 &#8220;Coastal Journal&#8221; featured a story on the regatta, and reported that one of the boats sailed to Newport after the regatta &#8220;to mock those more accustomed to the sleek craft of the America&#8217;s Cup competition.&#8221;\u00a0 The vessel &#8220;Wild Cat&#8221; used beach balls for floatation, but as the boat entered the water before the race, the balls let loose which made it an excellent choice for the &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture.&#8221;\u00a0 Other unusual paraphernalia included an umbrella for propulsion, a shovel for a rudder, and a cooler for floatation.\u00a0 <strong>Bob Hagam <\/strong>of Narragansett called the event &#8220;Americana at its best.\u201d &#8220;Most Ingenious Design:&#8221; &#8220;Total Chaos,&#8221; with <strong>John Matson<\/strong>, and &#8220;Judges&#8217; Award:&#8221; &#8220;Starship Enterprise&#8221; with <strong>Jeff D&#8217;Amico<\/strong> and <strong>Jim Fitzharris<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1996, 48 boats competed in the pouring rain, a first in the regatta&#8217;s history.\u00a0 When Chris&#8217; niece, <strong>Marissa Corda<\/strong> from Miami, designed the poster and tee shirt design and added the logo, &#8220;I survived the 19th annual Fools&#8217; Rules Regatta,&#8221; little did she know how true that motto would be.\u00a0 As the weather deteriorated before the races began, dark clouds loomed, and a threat of severe winds and rain was forecast, Chief Fool Chris was contemplating minute to minute whether (no pun intended) to call the races or not.\u00a0 Then a meteorologist with the US Weather Service came up to him and offered her help.\u00a0 He insisted she remain at his side until the storm passed and tell him if conditions, in her opinion, became unsafe.\u00a0 The rains came, but fortunately no lightning.\u00a0 The crew, committee, and spectators were drenched by the awards ceremony, but a great time was had by all.\u00a0\u00a0 Duck tape ruled as king.\u00a0 <strong>Harold Whiting<\/strong> of Charlestown was heard saying &#8220;Duck tape is God,&#8221; and Fools&#8217; Rules veteran, <strong>John Matson<\/strong> agreed, &#8220;Duck tape is probably the most important thing.&#8221;\u00a0 Fifteen-year veteran, <strong>Frank Newman <\/strong>and his crew were up all night, as usual, designing and constructing their vessel\u00a0 &#8220;Most Ingenious Design went to &#8220;The Whacky Beach Noodles&#8221; with <strong>Charlie Beauchamp<\/strong>, &#8220;Judges Award: &#8220;Carmen in Distress&#8221; with <strong>Kathy Brownell<\/strong>, and the &#8220;Worst Example of Naval Architecture:&#8221; &#8220;Miss Jamestown&#8221; with <strong>Tiffany Spencer<\/strong>.\u00a0 The week after the regatta, plans were under way for the 20th year, with special events and celebrations planned for 1997.<\/p>\n<p>1997 marked the 20<sup>th<\/sup> year of the event.\u00a0 <u>Jamestown Press<\/u> cartoonist <strong>Frank Caswe<\/strong>ll not only designed the poster but created a clever cartoon about a sinking entry.\u00a0 The event dominated the front page of many local newspapers.\u00a0 \u201cTurtle Top,\u201d skippered by 8 year old <strong>Ben Bershad<\/strong>, proved that simplicity can be the key to success.\u00a0 His boat was the inverted lid of a sandbox, steered by a hockey stick for a rudder, and an umbrella held in his hand for a sail.\u00a0 \u201cTurtle Top\u201d was also named this year\u2019s \u201cMost Ingenious Design.\u201d\u00a0 <strong>Kathy Brownell\u2019s<\/strong> \u201cFloating Elvises\u201d were quite a sight: 5 sailors dressed in gold-flecked painted jumpsuits, sporting sunglasses and fake sideburns.\u00a0 Elvis tunes emanated from the +craft prior to the race.\u00a0 Other boats were made from Lexan (\u201cNothing But Glass\u201d), and floatation noodles (\u201cOodles of Noodles,\u201d and \u201cSidewinder.\u201d\u00a0 The motto of the day for veteran <strong>Frank Newman\u2019s<\/strong> international crew was \u201cFloat and Win.\u201d\u00a0 Fifty-seven vessels (a record number) competed, and entertained the crowd, estimated to be near 1000.<\/p>\n<p>The morning of the 1998 regatta, the QE \u2013 II sat in Newport harbor, providing a striking contrast to the barely floating vessels of our event.\u00a0 The largest so far, with 59 \u201cboats,\u201d was dubbed by Chief fool, Chris Powell, \u201cthe biggest and the best.\u201d\u00a0 The <u>Newport Daily News<\/u> ran an editorial calling this a \u201cdelightful event, which we hope continues forever.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cBag \u2013 o \u2013 Wind, \u201c (now 15 years old and sporting a new, younger crew, chalked up another 1<sup>st<\/sup> place win in Class 4.\u00a0 \u201cButterflies in Distress\u201d admitted they are always \u201csomething in distress\u201d because they don\u2019t know have much sailing experience.<\/p>\n<p>The regatta of 1999 once again ruled the front page of newspapers, the Newport Daily News calling it a \u201cfarcical flotilla.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cTwisted Sister,\u201d whose crew included <strong>Pam Spencer<\/strong>, entertained the crowd as it tried to maneuver its way down the course.\u00a0 Other boat names, such as \u201cBarely Afloat\u201d and \u201cBottom of the Sea III\u201d gave indications of the doubt that these boats would actually cross the finish line.\u00a0 Indeed, \u201cBarely Afloat\u201d was not afloat a mere 10 yards down the course.\u00a0 One spectator commented that watching boats fall apart was as entertaining as watching them succeed.\u00a0 \u201cThe Good Ship Mr. Zip, Zip, Zip,\u201d and its crew of the All Guys\u2019 Choir came away with the \u201cMost Ingenious Design\u201d award.\u00a0 \u201cGarbage Barge\u201d with <strong>Ben and Owen Duff<\/strong> won the coveted \u201cJudges\u2019 Award.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One newspaper headline in 2000 wrote, \u201cfun rules the day.\u201d\u00a0 One again that was an understatement.\u00a0 \u201cJumpin Jack Flash\u201d used a trampoline as its deck, and \u201cOccupied\u201d <strong>(Frank Newman<\/strong>) won the \u201cWorst Example of Naval Architecture\u201d with two portable toilets fastened together as the hull.\u00a0 \u201cClueless,\u201d with <strong>Kelsey Moody<\/strong> and <strong>Sydney Ferguson<\/strong> used a shovel for a rudder and two umbrellas as sails aboard \u201cThe Styrofoam Boat<strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Fred Pease\u2019s<\/strong> crew (all men) on \u201cLickety Split\u201d won the millennium challenge offered them by <strong>Susan Lutes\u2019<\/strong> all-female crew of \u201cSea Cups.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cShip of Chief Fools\u201d with the Logan family dressed like organizer Chris Powell in his blazer, captain\u2019s hat and red bow tie.<\/p>\n<p>Perfect weather and a record number of 74 entries marked the 2001 event.\u00a0 The wind was slow to come up; Chris Powell said it was \u201cWatching grass grow.\u201d\u00a0 Eventually all those who were destined to finish did so, and those that weren\u2019t, well. . . .that\u2019s entertainment at it\u2019s best!\u00a0 \u201cMussel Power\u201d broke in two pieces as the race began, in spite of no wind, making it an easy choice for the \u201cWorst Example of Naval Architecture<strong>.\u201d\u00a0 Erica and Kenny Lush<\/strong> handily sailed their \u201cPicnic Boat\u201d to a 1<sup>st<\/sup> place finish in Class 2.\u00a0 Costumes as always were clever: the crew of \u201cA Little Bit of the Bubbly\u201d covered themselves in bubble wrap.\u00a0 Veteran of the regatta <strong>Frank Newman<\/strong> commented, \u201cwe\u2019re all a little nuts, but it\u2019s fun.\u201d\u00a0 Local artist <strong>June Webb<\/strong> depicted the event on note cards she created.\u00a0 Organizers are beginning to plan ways to commemorate next year\u2019s 25<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary event.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>25 YEARS OF FOOLISHNESS:\u00a0 THE FOOLS&#8217; RULES REGATTA In 1978, Karl Smith proposed holding an unusual sailing event to fellow Jamestown Taxpayers Association members to help celebrate Jamestown&#8217;s tricentenial.\u00a0 He had heard of a build-your-own-vessel regatta in California, and thought it might be fun to try here.\u00a0 The original committee included Dick Boenning, Cliff Chappel, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":336,"featured_media":0,"parent":42,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4977","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4978,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4977\/revisions\/4978"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jyc.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}