Whatever floats their boats

HOUSTON — About two dozen racers launched into the Little Susitna River with plenty of paddles Saturday for the third annual Little Su Float Classic.

One of the highlights of Houston Founder’s Day, the river race is more of a social networking event than a serious competition. But that didn’t stop Tew’s Automotive from talking a little good-natured trash before putting into the river at Alaska Kathy’s.

Garrett Hooper said, “I’m gonna win,” expressing optimism for a better showing than last year’s last-place finish. Hooper and the Tew’s team relaxed with a few cold ones before the race, and he said he had no problem using the large squirt gun he had stowed beneath his life vest.

“I’ll only use it if I pass somebody,” Hooper said.

One team out of range was Team Wonders, made up of father and daughter Ray and Mackenzie Wonders. The duo finished with the fastest canoe time in 36 minutes.

“It was really fun,” Ray said. “At times it felt like we were moving pretty good, at other times it seemed like it was a lot of work.”

For Mackenzie, the Float Classic was her first canoe race, but not her last.

“Her and I are going to do some big long-distance canoe races this next summer,” Ray said. “So, this was good practice.”

Panting hard at the finish behind Miller’s Market off the Parks Highway, CJ Rusher said the paddling took its toll.

“My arms are Jell-O,” he said. “They’re done.”

Along with friends Jeremiah Schachle, Wes McClure and Robbie Schachle, the group loosely estimated the length of the race to be anywhere from 2 to 50 miles.

The run down the Little Su is closer to 2 miles, said Nancy Sult, president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce. Off-and-on rain also did little to discourage the 16 teams that signed up.

“My racers don’t care about the rain,” she said. “It’s Founder’s Day. We usually have rain on Founder’s Day. They are a very dedicated group.”

Official timekeeper Lance Wilson said the racers “are just out for a good time,” and that some, like father-son team Fred and Hayden Selternreich, get downright creative.

After winning Best in Show last year with a dune buggy boat, the pair brought a cardboard and Styrofoam float plane — which Hayden dubbed Fast Freddie’s Flying Machine — to the race on Saturday. Fred said they spent about two hours putting the plane together and the goal was simply not to sink.

“We don’t know what it’ll do,” he said minutes before launching. “We haven’t tested it. We got the buckets to sit on, so hopefully our butts will be out of the water. … I think it’s pretty good for two hours’ work. We went to the thrift store to look for stuff to throw on our airplane. We found those (plastic lifesavers) for a quarter apiece, and they match.”

Robbie Schachle finished behind his brother Jeremiah, but joked that his brother handicapped his chances before the race started.

“He gave us the slow boat with the skinny paddles,” he said. “It’s a rigged race. It was fishy.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.