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Events > April Tools > 2014

April Tools 2014: Blind Madness!
Recap & Media Gallery
April Tools 2014 Recap: Eyes on the Prize, or not!
- April 25, 2014, Pender Harbour, BC 

After a brief squall of sleet, it looked like Lady Luck was smiling on the 13th annual April Tools Wooden Boat Challenge when the day turned fair and sunny.  But it was a case of blind luck…

The builders discovered that their ‘twist’ included building a boat and paddle from just a half sheet of plywood, a bundle of 1 x 2s, a 2 x 2, a large sheet of plastic, some screws and the inevitable duct tape. But that was the easy part!  The boat had to hold 2 occupants, one of which would be blindfolded throughout the race.  Naturally this would be the person tasked with actually propelling and steering the boat, while the sighted person could only give verbal cues.  

As in any relationship, the secret turned out to be communication. Quickly barked orders won out over more vague ‘no, no, go right, no wait go left…’ and there was much meandering over the course -- including some side trips under the pilings of Chain Alley!  

But the Fireflies took a commanding lead and captured First Place and the $700 prize.  There were some close races though, and Ace-It Carpentrywon the $400 Second prize with the Gunboat Bay Challengers taking Third and $250.  

The crowd voted the Fireflies winners of the Spiffy Skiffy trophy for their good looking craft, while the judges picked The BC Fairies for the Broken Paddle perseverance award.

In the Youth races, Ace-It Barge took the Trophy Race.  As usual, no one actually paddled to the end of the Fun Race, but the Shortees won theswimming tug-of-war for their boat and came across the finish line first. All were rewarded by large bags of swag for their efforts.

The tattoo of little kids hammering together mini-boats carried well into the races. They were kept busy all day with facepainting, fish and frog making, pot painting and all types of messy and entertaining activities. Add to this great food from the Rotary and lots of cookies from the PH Living Heritage Society, it was a pretty lucky 13th April Tools.

Many thanks to our fabulous sponsors: Sunshine Coast Credit Union, Rona, PH Rotary, Bobbi and Bernie Bennett, Twentyman Tea and Coffee, Pender Harbour Diesel, Pender Harbour Automotive and Tire, KER Enterprises, Prudential Sussex Realty, Painted Boat Resort and Telus.  Thanks also to Marketplace IGA, Oak Tree Market. Marina Pharmacy and Sunshine Coast Resort for their contributions. 

See you next year!

Jackie Ordronneau & the April Tools Committee

P.S. If you have some you'd like to share with us, get in touch!

WINNERS LIST

Adult Races
  • 1st Place: Fireflies (Garden Bay: Bruno Cote, Kerry Rand, Dave Goble, Dustin Ouellette)
  • 2nd Place: Ace-It Carpentry (Kamloops, Madeira Park: Carl Brownstein, Dustin Sigurdson, Tristan Dagsaan, Nolan Pitre)
  • 3rd Place: Gunboat Bay Challengers: (Madeira Park, Gibsons: Jan Verwey, Wayne Robinson, Kira M’Lot, Trina M’Lot)
  • Spiffy Skiffy Award: Fireflies (Garden Bay: Bruno Cote, Kerry Rand, Dave Goble, Dustin Ouellette)
  • Broken Paddle Award: The BC Fairies (Vancouver: Jared Stephens, Ryan Caron, Nick Leffler, Nathan Cottell)
  • Full race details & final standings (pdf)

Youth Races
  • 1st Place, Flattest & Fastest Boat: Ace-It Barge (Kamloops, Madeira Park: Dustin Sigurdson, Tristan Dagsaan, Nolan Pitre)
  • 2nd Place, Strongest Swimmers: The GUESS WHOs (PHSS: gr.10-11, Alex Phillips, Michael Parrot, Colton Wiebe)
  • 3rd Place, Most Determined: The SHORTEES (PHSS gr. 8: Kim Fielding, Kaitlin Gross, Taylor Howie)
  • 4th Place, Sportiest Boat: The GOON SQUAD (PHSS gr.8-11: Ashley Angus, Jordan Kammerle, Dani Pazur)
  • 5th Place, Coldest Kneeds: HAMMER DOWN (PHSS gr.7-8: Alleyne Cooke, Matthew Phillips, Ian McDonald)
  • Full race details & final standings (pdf)

Photo Gallery

10am-2pm: Building & Activities

Youth Races

Adult Races

Award Ceremony
April Tools 2014 Event Recap Video
Additional Photos & Video
April Tools 2014 Race Video by John Farrer
April Tools 2014 Race Video by the Coast Reporter



2014 News Archives
Preparing for April Tools 2013
- April 2, 2014, Pender Harbour
Picture
Hard to believe that the 13th annual April Tools Wooden Boat Challenge is already well into the planning stages! Once the Christmas tree hits the compost pile, the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society swings into action and begins by devising the ‘twist’…and this year’s should be downright entertaining. It won’t be revealed till 10AM April 26, of course, but we can’t wait to see how the teams of 2 to 4 builders/racers handle it. Hopefully there will be a few more paddlers/rowers and fewer swimmers than last year, but who would have predicted that all those bi-hulled boats would go down?

The $160 registration fee per team remains the same, with early birds being discounted to $140 if entries are received before April 1. Download the entry form, then mail it with the fee to PHLHS/April Tools, Box 65 Madeira Park BC V0N 2H0 and we will notify you by email when we receive it.

April Tools is always more than just the adult race, and we will be going into the high school after spring break to help the teens slam their boats together.  Our woodworkers have begun making ship-shaped pieces for the little kids to convert into their dreamboats in our family activities area, and our crowd of crafters is working on a whole list of free activities to keep the small ones busy all day. 

All this prep work would go nowhere, of course, without the financial help of local businesses! This year the Sunshine Coast Credit Union, Rona, Pender Harbour Rotary, Twentyman Tea and Coffee, Pender Harbour Diesel, Pender Harbour Automotive and Tire, Prudential Sussex Realty, Painted Boat Resort, KER Enterprises and Bobbi and Bernie Bennett have all come aboard as sponsors. Additional support is being supplied by Sunshine Coast Resort, Marketplace IGA, Marina Pharmacy and Oak Tree Market. Our huge thanks to them all!

See you at Millennium Park on April 26 and you can judge for yourself if April Tools 2014 is our best ever.  Who knows…maybe it’ll even be sunny!