By Joy Simmons
BYU students and faculty played Cub Scout games Thurs., March 14, at the BYU Sailing Club”s Raingutter Regatta.
Miniature sailboats, built mostly by members of BYU”s Sailing Club, were raced down water-filled rain gutters set up in the step-down lounge of the Clyde Building as part of BYU Engineering Week.
“It was a chance to go back to the old days and build a little toy,” said Troy Walker, 23, a senior from Portland majoring in computer science.
The Raingutter Regatta is a brand new tradition for the BYU Sailing Club. They had a Regatta in 2000 to promote sailing, but this is the first year it has been held as part of BYU Engineering Week.
Walker and his two roommates, David Rogers and Jarom Brizzee, are members of the Sailing Club. They spent many hours making miniature sailboats and testing each boat”s speed by racing them down rain gutters set up in their apartment. The students raced by blowing air into the sail of the boat.
“My two roommates have been practicing until two in the morning,” Walker said.
Walker”s boat called Yellow Fever was shaped like a dragon. He sailed through three races, winning one and losing two, but didn”t place.
Rogers, 24, a senior from Milpitas, Calif., majoring in electrical engineering and president of the Sailing Club raced several boats in the Regatta.
“I think I have a pretty fast boat,” Rogers said the day before the race.
Out of the 17 boats he, Brizzee and Walker built, six were raced yesterday at the Regatta. The “fast boat” was the Aurora.
It was Brizzee, 22, a junior from Idaho Falls, Idaho, majoring in international studies who blew the wind into the Aurora”s sail for the final race. Rogers raced the Aurora in preliminary rounds, but had to race one of his other boats in the final against the Aurora.
Brizzee took first prize with the Aurora, Rogers took second with the Berkley Basher and Adam Grant, 25, a sophomore from Norwalk, Conn., majoring in industrial design took third with Pirate Ship.
They each received a goblet filled with candy and a gift certificate to a local restaurant as prizes. The three best traditional, the most artistic and the most innovative boats also took prizes.
Several faculty members also sailed boats, but none of them won any prizes.
“It”s a little trickier than it looks,” said Steve Morris, BYU Sailing Club advisor. He raced a few times with no luck.
Morris said the Sailing Club sponsored the Raingutter Regatta because they wanted to perform a service and share the joy of sailing. He said Mike Wirthlin, assistant professor in the Electrical Engineering Department, really helped the Sailing Club take part in Engineering Week.
Wirthlin also raced a boat. He blew his boat over twice, winning one race and losing two.
“I should have made my own boat,” he said. Wirthlin entered the race with a boat made by Rogers.
Eva Loveland, 18, a sophomore from Long Beach, Calif., majoring in mechanical engineering studied nearby while the Raingutter Regatta commenced and said it was fun to watch.
“It is the life of the study room,” said Loveland.
