Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 30, 1993 TAG: 9305300076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Right on schedule.
It wasn't much of a shipwreck, though, because the iceberg and the boat were of similar construction - Styrofoam, cardboard and scrap lumber pieced together haphazardly by the first period physics class at Lord Botetourt High School.
"There was some physics applied," student Dan Sell said after the Titanic washed up on the riverbank in approximately seven pieces.
Some of the 62 entries in Saturday's river race at Festival in the Park were the product of weeks of planning and careful construction with an eye to speed and aesthetics.
This was not one of them.
How long did it take to build the 25-foot, solid-black Titanic? "Oh God, don't tell him," one student said.
"Probably about seven hours," Sell said anyway. "If you count real labor, about four hours . . . well, say six; that's a round figure."
Even before the Titanic was completed, the students were plotting its destruction. They designed the bow to separate from the rest of the ship, then built an iceberg to be pitched overboard as the Titanic passed the judge's booth. The plan was for the ship to go down when it hit the iceberg.
The fact that it began to fall apart prematurely - the minute it hit the water - didn't concern Sell and his classmates.
"Like we care," the motto painted on the side of the ship, could have applied to the thousands of festival goers who turned out Saturday for a carefree day of sun, music, food, sport, and art.
Wendi Schultz, executive director of the festival, said the first Saturday of the two-weekend affair usually draws between 12,000 and 15,000 people.
Although the festival adds new features each year, the river race has remained a constant popular attraction.
The Titanic was not Lord Botetourt's only entry; the school also floated an impressive steamboat replica with a paddlewheel that really turned.
And the Valdez was a third cardboard entry from the school that, like the Titanic, seemed to defy the laws of physics by actually floating.
The project was mostly for fun, but physics teacher William Boothe said the class applied some principles of flotation and buoyancy in designing the vessels.
Before it disintegrated, the Titanic made it down the river in 12 minutes and 58 seconds, not good enough to qualify for the next round. But if it had?
"We'll find some tape," Boothe said.
Winners, by category.
I Can't Believe It Floats: Bunch Princess IV (Billy Warren, captain).
Most original: Aladdin's Illusion (Lee Martin, captain)
Fastest: A & G Auto Repair (Matt Baumgardner, captain)
Best in category:
Commercial and industry - Aladdin's Illusion
Non-profit group - The Lord Botetourt High School Cavalier (William Boothe, captain)
Neighborhood group - Hokie Hobie (John Hawley, captain)
Individual - The What? and the Why? (Ann Paris, captain)
People's Choice Award: Aladdin's Illusion.
by CNB