COLD LAKE - On Aug. 3, Cold Lake's annual Aqua Days provided a day of fun-filled activities for families, highlighted by the ever-popular cardboard boat races. Participants of all ages took part, showcasing their creativity and engineering skills.
Gavin Johnson, owner of the award-winning "Yellow Submarine" boat, shared his enthusiasm, "Every year they come up with a new theme. It's great fun. And then we do it together, right? We work on it as a summer project together at school."
Johnson detailed the process of building the boat, "First thing is I appeal to friends and family for cardboard. And then that depends on what I get. So last year there was a lot of dumpster diving to get some. And then I started a hole and then I add to it. The difficult thing this year was the curves. And they wanted curves on the front to make it look like a submarine."
The "Yellow Submarine" boat was inspired by the Beatles' song and the animated "Yellow Submarine" movie, which Johnson frequently plays at home and it is enjoyed with his family.
"The last three years we've done this. We did a Star Wars theme boat, we did the Mandalorian last year because he [his son Fraser] was Baby Yoda and I was the Mandalorian. And the year before we did England vs. Scotland because my buddy's Scottish, so he races but the first year we did it we had an England team vs. a Scottish team,” Johnson reflected.
Johnson’s daughter, Hattie, shared her excitement about the races: "I always think it's fun just watching some boats go sinking and then the others stay afloat. I think it's really fun."
Johnson added a final challenge after the race, "And then we try and get all three of the kids in at the end. The challenge is, will it take the whole family after all?"
Mayor Craig Copeland praised the event and its participants, “It was a great event. I want to thank all of the contestants. Good participation. Some of those boats are just amazing on the sportmanship.”
Copeland added, “Aqua Days is all about the kids and the youth, trying to have a day for them. So we got a lot of different events on the beach today and I want to thank the city staff for putting everything together.”
The event featured various categories with impressive results:
Family Category:
- 1st place Fastest Boat: Waterhounds, Connie and Chase
- Best Engineered: Jamaica
- Most Artistic: The Yellow Submarine, Gavin and Fraser Johnson
Youth Division:
- 1st place Fastest Boat: The Reckors, Eli and Rye
- Most Artistic:The Black Pearl, Wilder and Matthew
- Best Engineered: The Wrath, Nikiya and Logan
Adult Division:
- 1st Place Fastest Boat: The Unicorn, Shirley
- Best Engineered: The Bush Pirates, Avery and John
