SNOW HILL, Md. -- Friday, July 5th was the first ever Pocomoke River Raft Race. Contestants battled it out in DIY rafts, built with everything from PVP pipes to animal feed troughs and foam.
After a classic "3...2...1...GO!" countdown, Friday's raft race was underway. Boaters started at Sturgis Memorial Park, paddled about a quarter mile down the river, rounded a buoy and then as fast as their hearts could paddle made it all the way back to the starting line.
There were three separate heats. The top two finishers from heats one and two had a chance to battle it out for the championship.
The Mariner Marauders, one of eleven teams competing, captained the animal feed trough boat, styled with foam to mimic a Viking ship. They dominated the first heat and it was a sign of things to come, because they ended up winning it all.
"It's a great feeling!" said an emphatic Garrett Neeb, one of the Mariner Marauders. "We had no idea what to expect, we knew that it was going to be fun, our competition was pretty stiff we saw the Bearded Men Society and knew that they were going to be a challenge."
The reason Neeb knew a tough waterway lied ahead was because the Bearded Men Society rolled up in raft made up of hollowed out barrels and star-spangled outfits.
"There's what, seven barrels here that are just from random places we found around the town, PVC that was brought to us by Ferguson Plumbing Company," said Robb Dunne, President of the Bearded Men Society. "Thanks to them guys they helped us out with our pump and everything too for all of our water battles that you saw, and just a lot of time and effort."
And yes, they had working water cannons on the boat.
"So if you look at the rules it says water guns are encouraged, so we like to bend the rules so we made some water guns," said Dunne.
Speaking of rules, the big one from this race is it's BYOB: Build Your Own Boat. So as long as there's no motor, pretty much anything goes.
The ladies from Elliot's Tavern kicked and paddled their way into second place and a giant inflatable flamingo got in on the action.
Power Nap, the winner's of this years "Broken Paddle Award", handed out to the team who struggled the most, sailed gracefully on...
"We were on a king sized air mattress," said Lia Pierson. "It had a sheet on it and we had a couple of canoe paddles."
The first ever Pocomoke River Raft Race, allowing people to sail into the Fourth of July weekend in style.