If it floats, it races at 35th annual Bottle Boat Regatta by Hernando DeSoto Historical Society
PALMA SOLA -- Team DeSoto overcame capsizing in one of its heats Saturday to beat Team Coca Cola, and claim the adult trophy in the 35th annual DeSoto Heritage Festival Bottle Boat Regatta. The event was contested along the south shore of Palma Sola Causeway.
While there might have been winners and losers at the regatta, there was no such thing as the agony of defeat. Competitors were having too much fun splashing in the clear waters west of Anna Maria Island.
Denver Romano, a ninth-grader at Lakewood Ranch High School, was in her sixth year of bottle-boat competition.
"I am just having fun with my friends," Romano said.
Likewise, for members of the Braden River High School, which won the high school category.
"It was kind of a spur-of-the moment thing that we decided to race. We didn't expect this, but we won," Braden River's Marissa Hulsart said.
After all the racing was done, the Lee Lightning, the middle-school champ, challenged Braden River High School to a race and won.
In the elementary school category, the Palma Sola Panthers beat the Stewart Shooting Stars to claim the top prize.
Zack Falco, a Braden River High senior, said bottle-boat racing presents some unique challenges not present in other kinds of racing. For one thing, 2-liter bottles provide the primary buoyancy. The
teams are required to fabricate their own boats.
The regatta motto is: "If it floats, it races."
"The guys in the back have to coordinate the paddling, and the guy in the front has to steer," Falco said.
The regatta registered five elementary school teams, two middle school teams, two high school teams and two adult teams, said event Chairman Cliff Hulsart, adding it was a normal turnout.
"All of the boats are uniquely crafted by the individuals who race them," Hulsart said.
The Hernando DeSoto Historical Society is a not-for profit that celebrates the historical significance of Spanish explorers who landed in the Tampa Bay area in 1539.
Other events planned to celebrate the area's heritage are a fashion show and musical April 26, the DeSoto Ball on April 29, the Grand Parade on April 30 and a fishing tournament July 8-10.
Through the Conquistador Historical Foundation, the society supports local charities, offers scholarships, funds a cultural museum in Bradenton and maintains a Sister City relationship with Barcarrota, Spain.
James A. Jones Jr., Herald reporter, can be contacted at 941-745-7053 or on Twitter @jajones1.
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "If it floats, it races at 35th annual Bottle Boat Regatta by Hernando DeSoto Historical Society ."