Bottle Boat Regatta returns to Palma Sola Causeway

If you haven't registered yet for the DeSoto Heritage Festival Bottle Boat Regatta, you're not going to be able to compete, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the day.

In fact, every year, hundreds of people gather around the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway to watch as team paddle their ornate, unique home-made boats, made from discarded plastic bottles, through the water to the finish line. Or sink trying.

The Bottle Boat Regatta, which is part of the DeSoto Heritage Festival, is one of the oldest annual festival events, going back at least 27 years.

The race is a real competition, but every year the winners and the losers say its much more about fun than the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Teachers use the event as a teaching tool, and help their student competitors learn about such things as the dynamics of buoyancy and water-weight displacement ratios.

The race also helps bring attention to the DeSoto Historical Society, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities.

But mostly, it's about the fun of spending the spring day on the water, watching people paddle by on recycled bottles.

Details: 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. April 11, 8500 Manatee Ave., Bradenton. Tickets: Free. Information: 941-747-1998, desotohq.com.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bottle Boat Regatta returns to Palma Sola Causeway."