Photo: The Championship race at the Chi-Cheemaun Festival Cardboard Boat Races on June 15th began with a surprise as Papier Mushy (center) capsized at the starting line. Chi-Cheemaun, with Reagan Topolinsky and Julia Tiberi at the helm (right), outpaced Dexter Golden’s Titanic (left) to win the championship.
Chi-Cheemaun Festival Cardboard Boat Races Draw Huge Crowd
By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
Since the inaugural event in 2010, the Cardboard Boat Races have been the best attended event at Chi-Cheemaun Weekend. This year, with a return to a full weekend of programming, the crowds were back up to pre-COVID size.
Approximately 750 people came out at 2:00 on a gorgeous sunny Saturday to watch an hour and a half of thrills, chills (literally — Tobermory Harbour still remembers winter) and excitement.
There were capsizes galore, collisions, jousting and gallant teamwork. There were impressive displays of cardboard engineering and hundreds of pounds of soggy wreckage to pull from the harbour.
In short — it couldn’t have been better.
Emcee Linda Bain announced the participants, gave a spirited play-by-play and kept things moving.
The race course runs from the boat launch to a buoy about fifty metres up the harbour — out and back. Many of the boats completed the circuit out and back. A few even did it three times.
The eighteen entries were divided into eight heats. The winners of the heats competed in three semi-final races and the winners of those semi-finals competed for the championship.
The champ was Chi-Cheemaun, crewed by Reagan Topolinsky and Julia Tiberi. In second place was Dexter Golden in Titanic. Jack Lauzier and Evan Robinson came third in Tobermory Yacht Club’s Papier Mushy.
Photo L-R: The winners (back row) Jack Lauzier and Evan Robinson (3rd place), Dexter Golden (2nd place) and (front row) Reagan Topolinsky and Julia Tiberi (1st place).Photo: Minions, crewed by Colton Larrivee won its heat but was edged out in the semi-finals. Minions was originally built by Dan Larrivee in 2015. Colton paddled Minions to the Cardboard Boat Championship in 2022 but got caught in traffic in last year’s race.Photo: The Chi-Cheemaun was the day’s winner, crewed by Reagan Topolinsky and Julia Tiberi. Like Minions, Chi-Cheemaun was built by Dan Larrivee.Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo: Rub A Dub All Stars won the Export Division of the J.P. Johnstone Slow Pitch Tournament.Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo: Camel Toes won the Coors Division of the J.P. Johnstone Slow Pitch Tournament.
Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo: Gibby’s won the Ultra Division of the J.P. Johnstone Slow Pitch Tournament.
Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo: Volunteers Rick & Wendy Caron and Jayne Collier serving hot dogs for the Tobermory Food Bank in Little Tub Harbour.
Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo L-R : Volunteers Tara Gibbons, Cara Golden, Bob Hofstrand and Karin Newman serve up burgers and refreshments at the Tobermory Primary Place food booth.Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo L-R: Wrenn McAfee, Sadie Scott and Georgia Robbins enjoy the kids activities at the playground in Tobermory for the 50th Annual Chi-Cheemaun Festival.
Photo Credit: Nikk LaFontaine, Bruce Peninsula Press
Photo: The McLaren Pipe and Drum Band march in the 50th Annual Chi-Cheemaun Festival parade.
