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Community Corner

Ballwin Venturers Cruise on Cardboard for a Cause

'Venture Crew 2009' joined more than 100 other boats Saturday in the Grand Basin Lake below the Art Museum in Forest Park as part of a benefit for the 'Wings of Hope.'

When Dan Northem, the adult advisor for Venture Crew 2009, heard about the Wings of Hope boat race, he was sure his group would love to participate.

Saturday, his Ballwin-crew and more than 100 other cardboard-boat captains met in Forest Park at the Grand Basin Lake as part of a benefit for the Wings of Hope. Founded in 1962, the St. Louis-based Wings of Hope is a non-profit specializing in providing medical airlifts and ambulance transport to children whose familes have little or no health insurance.

Student-ventuters Rob Northem and crewmate Sarah Wilson piloted the first entry of the competition with their boat “Perry the Platypus," an aquatic recreation of a character from the Phineas and Ferb cartoon show.

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Wilson said their seafaring skills may have been limited, but that didn't detract from her fun Saturday.

“I’m not really a good driver, and I was in the back of the boat trying to steer, but it's as good as cardboard boat sailing can get.”

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The second entry from Crew 2009 was the “Nimbus 2000” piloted by Kathleen Newcomber and Amy Bower and supported by crewmate Stephanie Campbell.

Their boat, a replica of a "Quidditch" athletic field as portrayed in the Harry Potter book series, eventually led their team to a solid 3rd place finish.

“The paddles would bend if you pushed too hard which made it hard for us to get any speed” Newcomber said. “Crossing the finish line was a great feeling ... and my best advice to others is use lots of duct tape and latex paint."

Eagle Scouts Brian Steiner and Kevin Dick spent more than 20 man-hours building their pirate ship, the Blasphemous Barnacle, complete with the Jolly Roger sail and gunwale cannons.

With all their planning and building efforts, however, they may have forgotten to get their boat in the water on time.

“We didn’t hear our number being called the first time,” Steiner said. “So we had to run to the launch site”.

After a chaoctic start, the boat capsized to the starboard side when they tried to get in which cost the two valuable time. With help from their crew, however, they eventually successfully boarded and set sail.

“We knew were wouldn’t win,” Dick said. “But we were determined to finish the race”.

Despite the damage to the ship, they managed to cross the finish. And although the boat had sunk, they still thrust their hands to the sky in triumph. It was this attitude that earned them the “Unsinkable Molly Brown Award” from the Wings of Hope judges.  

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