FORT BELVOIR, Va. (June14) -- Fort Belvoir's North Post outdoor pool turned into the fast lane during the Cardboard Regatta June 9.

Fifteen teams lined up to race their cardboard boats through the treacherously clear waters, battling for titles like "Most Fantastic Sinking."

"I thought the event was overall a good turnout," said Romel Voellm, Directorate of Family and

Morale, Welfare and Recreation, special events coordinator. "We had about the same amount of participants as last year."

One such team from last year was excited for the event.

"We won last year, and this year we are going for the most spectacular sink," said Jacob Trumbo, cardboard boat racer. "Our team name is 'Sinkable Force' and we named our boat 'The Couch of Doom,' this race is just a way for us to have fun."

The cardboard designs ranged from simple johnboat structures to elaborate Navy carriers, complete with aircraft, and not all were designed to sink.

"We've been working on our boat for about a week," said Donald Lobita, team Loco Lobita. "Inside it's full of formers and beams, and it has about three layers of cardboard for an outer skin."

Other teams used the boat building to just spend time together as a Family.

"We did the race last year and we just used out same process this year," said Maj. George Lesnak, a system integrator at the National Guard Bureau. "We all had to go find the boxes at home depot, cut them, tape them and put them together. We just figured it would be a good time putting it all together."

The process of creating the boats and decorating the boats was just as important as the race itself.

"We got to see more creativity with the boats," Voellm said. "It was nice to see the participants come back with enhanced designs after learning tips from the previous years."

After the final race and award ceremony, the teams and Families were invited to the Pool Bash.

"We hope this program can grow each and every year," said Voellm. "We just want to thank all the participants who put the hard work in to make these fantastic boats."