The 2018 Cardboard Boat Regatta was hosted by The Logan Martin Lake Protection Association (LMLPA) on Saturday.  Debbie, the treasurer at LMLPA , said the results were better this year than the previous one. Around 50 people attended the Regatta, and three boats participated.

 The “S.S. Minnow” was quite colorful. The side of the boat was green with white polka dots. It looked nice, but it lacked  durability. The S.S. Minnow was the first and only boat to sink, and therefore got the Titanic Award.

Runner up went to U.S.S. Diane, a boat named after Paul’s wife, who died of cancer. The ship was made from cardboard and duck tape. The U.S.S. Diane stayed intact through out the entire race and never gave way, like the S.S. Minnow. Paul’s wife loved the water. She lived on Pine Harbor and she always wanted to protect the lake.

The winner of the Cardboard Boat Regatta was Patrick Hollowell and his boat “Hummingbird” which sailed into the finish at Lakeside Park in Pell City.

Protecting the lake is exactly what the LMLPA do. The group started in 1993. It was formed by local community leaders to help Alabama fight off Georgia from having complete control over the Coosa and Tallapoosa River. According to their website, lmlpa.org, the primary function of the association is to educate the public on issues and activities that impact the use and vitality of Logan Martin Lake.  The Association activities include: water quality monitoring, Water Wars tracking, involvement and information on relicensing procedures, sponsorship of lake litter clean-up, provision of public forums for education and information exchange, and maintain a dialog between LMLPA and similar grassroots organization. LMLPA is government approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The A.W.W train up LMLPA members to become monitors. The monitors in turn check certain aspects of the water such as the PH Level, the total alkalinity, bacteria, water temperature, the total hardness and more.

LMLPA’s goal for winter is to raise the water by two feet, so that people can still get their boats safely in and out from the lake.

Alabama has over 132 thousand miles of rivers and streams and  are top 5 in aquatic species diversity.

For more information, visit www.lmlpa.org.