Anchors aweigh at Lampe Park

Friday was perfect for sailing with winds of 22 knots and the sailors were on the ready to find the swiftest sailing vessel.

The sailboats glistened in sun. They carried the names, "S.S. Cruiser," "S.S. Josh Harber" and "S.S. TD" - with the latter having a striking resemblance to a football.

In their study of whales and ocean life, sixth-grade students from Gardnerville Elementary School built their own sailboats and set sail at the slough in Lampe Park.

This was the 10th year Meredith Swanson-Jessup's class did this project. Requirements were that the sailboats must float, be named and have at least one sail, but they could be made from any materials.

The students used wood, foam, cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles.

The release of "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie influenced some students' sail design.

Flying under the Jolly Roger was Captain Drew Rosendale's mighty sailing ship, "The Black Vulture," which was one of his old shoes filled with Lincoln Logs and Styrofoam for buoyancy. The captain said his sister gave him the idea to use a shoe for his project.

"I said, 'I know a shoe I could use,'" Drew said. "It's a shoe I won't wear again."

Shad Brick's boat was made of two green liter-sized soda bottles that also had a pirate-inspired flag.

"My sail is an old kite I had," said Shad. "I worked on my boat until the final heat. I put water in it to weigh it down and keep it upright. It's a back flip master."

The students were told to work on their boat projects themselves, unless they used power tools or paint.

Lauren Babbitt said her dad is remodeling their house so she had access to power tools to construct her cherrywood sailboat.

"I cut it with a band saw, sanded it with a power sander and then I lacquered it," said Lauren, 11. "My sail was a cloth napkin with a mermaid I painted on it."

Jasmyn Peterson's boat was a plastic container decorated with red, white and blue ribbons with a copy of the famous photo taken of firemen hoisting the American flag on the remains of the World Trade Center.

"My boat's supposed to be for 9/11," said Jasmyn. "Me and my dad were thinking of what we could do because it's close to that time."