Riverhead Cardboard Boat Race all set

The Great Riverhead Cardboard Boat Race — which started last year as a lark — will take place again this year, according to the Riverhead Town Board.

The board voted to schedule the race for Sunday, June 26, on the Peconic River. Last year town board member George Gabrielsen said the race was an attempt to “bring life and excitement to downtown Riverhead.”

It drew 1,500 spectators who spent hours watching 75 contestants racing and sinking in boats made mostly of unwaxed cardboard and held together with duct tape.

The race is divided into categories, for children and adults, single and multiple rowers.

Two teams battle it out in the Riverhead Cardboard Boat Race on the Peconic River. (June 27, 2010)