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The Paddock Area is "Home" for the teams for the 5 days of the Splash. The two large white tents give each team 300 sq. ft. of secure workspace and easy access to get down to the lake.
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The first order of business is Registration. Laminated badges are prepared in advance and are issued when each participant signs waivers.
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Each skipper is ballasted to 70kg. (154 lb.). This includes the life jacket. A wristband shows the amount of ballast and a matching band is on the ballast bag.
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Prior to any boats going on the water, each swimmer must pass a "swim test". Although life jackets are required on the water, we feel all skippers must be comfortable in the water without one.
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Wednesday evening is the Mixer to kick off the Event. We had many dignitaries and members of the local community who served as Volunteers. Here, one of the volunteers inspects the work of a team composed of students from various schools, trying to solve a problem.
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Hoyt Lake is down below the Paddock area. For launching and retrieval, we have provided three "Roll-O-Docks" with appropriate spacing for the various boats.
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Before any boat enters the water; a final checklist inspection is performed. This includes various required safety devices and conformance to the rules.
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For launching, "slings" are devised by each team. They vary, depending on the shape of the boat and other team preferences.
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Each team is required to have a "yard dolly" to move their boat from the Paddock to the launch area. The Marquette boat uses hydrofoils, not on it at this time, so the dolly is quite high.
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The premier event is the Endurance competition in which each boat goes as far as possible in two hours. This year we started in "Parade Fashion" so part of the first lap was a great photo opportunity.
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The field is divided into two heats, 30 minutes apart to make starting manageable and safe. Here, Geneva College from Pennsylvania gets a final check before going out to the "high line".
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Media interest in the area was very high. There were over a dozen interviews including coverage on CNN.
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The only source of power for the Splash is the sun so when the Endurance Event is not underway, the solar arrays are used to recharge batteries. Only a limited number of batteries are allowed.
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The local volunteers provided help in many areas including timing. In the early stages of the competition, one boat at a time "qualifies" on a special course.
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Within the paddock area, each team utilizes their space differently. Here we can see the beautiful workmanship of the University of Arkansas boat, competing for its second year.
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Designs vary a great deal but after years of competing, the United States Coast Guard Academy built an entirely new boat of mahogany plywood. Lightweight components and simplicity proved very successful.
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The returning World Champions, the University of South Carolina, chose a more complex design. Their entire propulsion unit is moveable in both the horizontal for steering, and the vertical for trim.
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Instrumentation varies greatly from team to team. Certain switches are mandatory and most teams monitor at least current from their batteries. Others have extensive instrumentation including telemetry to the team on shore.
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Our first team from Canada, ETS in Montreal, was a rookie team. In their first year, their design included several highly complex systems. Unfortunately, not everything worked as planned but they are already making plans "for next year".
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