The winners of Balclutha’s Big River Raft Race sneaked past the competition from the back after getting a "burst" in the final half hour.
Twelve rafts were entered in the event which was held for the first time in five years on Saturday.
First-place went to the team "Mama Alligator", South Otago High School teachers Rui Li and Max Hoegh at the helm, with support from Max’s brother Harrison.
The vessel, designed with the advice of a friend, overtook the competition, which included a mock-yacht designed to imitate the Emirates.
They were originally "near the back" at the start but cruised past the competition.
Harrison said the 15km race was pretty tiring.
"We didn’t get a burst until the last half hour, so we were paddling all the way."
The teachers blitzed past some rafts crewed by their own school pupils.
As is traditional, eggs and flour were thrown at rafts by the crowd lining the Balclutha Bridge at the finish.
Max said he recognised one pupil who threw a rotten egg at him and joked he might fail tests for the rest of the year because of it.The name of the team, "Mama Alligator", came from the design of the raft which was supposed to be painted to resemble an alligator. The three crew members wanted to dress as birds sitting on the scaly creature.
However the trio ran out of time to put the finishing touches on the raft.
Event organiser Laura Moore said the day went pretty well and everyone appeared to enjoy themselves.
Her phone was "going off" first thing in the morning as people were worried the weather might cause the event to be cancelled.
However, she said: "They’re going to get wet anyway," so it went ahead, as planned.
The "Rubber Duckies" received a spot prize for best dressed and the "Lamb Cutter Nutters" were given "lucky last".
Ms Moore thanked Ross and Carmen Begg for the use of their land for the launch site.
