36th annual Bottle Boat Regatta is set for Saturday

If you have a bunch of empty plastic bottles, you can use them to do battle this weekend.

The 36th annual Bottle Boat Regatta is set for Saturday on the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway. It’s part of the DeSoto Heritage Festival.

The idea of the Battle Boat Regatta is that teams, made up of family members, friends, schoolmates, neighbors, co-workers or club members, build odd-looking boats that float on hundreds of plastic bottles.

You’ll need a lot of bottles if you’re going to stay afloat. The regatta people suggest 20 one-gallon bottles for each team member.

Other than the plastic bottles, the boats can be made of just about anything. The regatta’s slogan is, “If it floats, it races.”

The teams paddle the boats from the launch point to the finish line. They get trophies for winning the race, and also for things like having the best-dressed crew.

There are several classifications for children and adults, and the boats in each classification race separately. So if you’re a spectator, you can watch continuous lines of plastic-bottom boats floating past you.

The winner of the highest adult class will be invited to participate in the DeSoto Heritage Festival Grand Parade on April 30.

Details: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 8, Palma Sola Causeway, 8500 Manatee Ave., Bradenton. Admission: Free. Information: 941-747-1998, desotohq.com.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 5:05 PM with the headline "36th annual Bottle Boat Regatta is set for Saturday."