M is for Merriment

Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday, now in its seventh round, has reached the letter M. Thank you, Denise, for your original vision and continued involvement. To see how other participating blogs have been by the letter M, click on banner or link.




A little over a week ago my son Stan and his wife Dianne, visiting from Colorado, took me to the Port Townsend waterfront to see the kinetic race. "Kinetic" means that the entries must be human-powered both on land and in the water. It is an all-day race, ending when the last remaining participant reaches the fairgrounds. There is also a judging of the floats for cleverness and decor. These first few pictures are of the participants racing toward the launching spot for the water leg of the race.

Completely unaware!

Some entrants use bicycle type pedals. Others, like the man above, jump or teeter-totter. All of them must have adequate floating devices for the water leg of the race.

The fantastically costumed Kinetic Kops enforce the racing rules. The course is rigidly set. They also act as announcers.

Some Kops ar Kind to Kiddies.

The floats (literally!) must race around a distant marker, out of sight of the launching site. Here one of the leaders in the water leg of the race races toward shore.

Here come they come!

To add to the merriment, there are a variety of prizes, I understand. One for 1st place, of course, but also for last place, middle place and others equally ridiculous.

I can take no credit for the photos. My son Stanford is the photographer.