There was no string quartet playing on the deck as it went down.
Unlike the Titanic sinking, there were fits of laughter and cheering as a boat built by air training corp representatives dissolved and sank the moment it hit the water in the 2008 Cardboard Cup yesterday.
But it did not deter The Squadron Sailors. They won the competition's Titanic Award, not only for the speed at which their cardboard boat sank, but for the mammoth swim they made around the 200m Andersons Bay Inlet circuit towing the sodden piece of cardboard.
Sergeant Philip Thomson and Flight Sergeant Zoanna Cunningham, of the Air Training Corp 42nd Squadron, stood wet and shivering on the bank following the race, quietly pleased with their effort.
‘‘We were committed the whole way - we wanted to finish. I need a hot drink now,' Flt Sgt Cunningham said.
The event, for boats made of cardboard, adhesive tape and paint, was a fund-raiser for TS Waireka Dunedin Sea Cadet Unit. The fastest of about 12 boats around the course was Team K (Connor and Barry Ketchen) in 1min 54sec.
