Gardnerville sixth-graders continue nautical tradition

Wyatte Caccamise, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Gardnerville Elementary School, spent last week floating his nearly 2-foot silver boat in a bathtub, practicing for Monday's big event.

"He was practicing in the bathtub all week," said father Steve Caccamise. "He did all the work himself, except for the sharp cutting."

The hull of Wyatte's boat was made of aluminum siding, bent and shaped "to cut through the water." The deck was made from a sheet of garage door insulation. A slender dowel was converted into a mast, and the mighty sail itself was cut from a pair of old snowpants.

"I got new snowpants, so we went and cut up the old ones," Wyatte said. "I just think my boat is unique. No one has seen a metal one before. In deeper water, I probably would have won."

Wyatte was one of 24 students in Meredith Swanson-Jessup's sixth-grade class who spent Monday afternoon sloshing through the creek at Lampe Park, gauging the wind with their senses and launching the miniature sailboats they'd made the week before.

It was the 22nd year Swanson-Jessup hosted the boat race as part of her lesson on oceanography and force of motion.

"It's motivational; it's exciting," she said. "I have third-graders come to me and tell me they want to do it, that they're looking forward to it."

Swanson-Jessup's boat race has become a legend at Gardnerville Elementary School, and the same rules that applied years ago still apply today - a boat that floats gets an A, a boat that capsizes gets a C, and a boat that sinks gets an F.

"Nobody got an F," Swanson-Jessup said. "And the wind current has been very unpredictable today."

Laura Hernandez, 11, learned about unpredictable breezes the hard way.

"The wind took my boat in the wrong direction," she said. "I still got second place, though."

Laura's boat, which she named The Gold Coin, was made from a 2-liter bottle strapped onto a horizontal wood float. The mast was made from straws, and the sails from pieces of paper. Laura had spray painted the entire vessel gold.

"I needed the wood so it wouldn't roll over," she said. "It balances the boat and makes it go fast."

Laura found herself in the finals going head to head with 11-year-old Jonah O'Connor and his sleek little skiff, The Iceberg.

"I melted wax in a Dairy Queen sundae bowl, let it dry, then pulled it out," Jonah said of the body of his ship. "The sail is made from orange foam."

As The Gold Coin battled against a contrary wind, floundering on the creekbed, The Iceberg caught a swift current and shot like an arrow through the water, winning the race. However, the penguin figurine Jonah had placed on The Iceberg's deck didn't make it; it went overboard toward the end of the race.

"I feel great," Jonah said upon being named top sailor. "I truly think how the boat was built is what got it going. The bottom made the water flow around it."