Scouting, Volume 74, Number 4, September 1986 Page: 22
90, E1-E24, [16] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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most strenuous activity in the whole
Boy Scouts of America," boasted Paul
Sulham, the Panama Canal Council
executive who has helped organize six
cayuco races.
"It's a do or die situation," agreed
Victor Payne, shortly before this year's
race got underway March 21. Payne,
serving as navigator, sat farthest aft of
four Post 21 Explorers in the Utmost, a
calm-water boat.
"The excitement has been build-
ing," added Dennis Cowles, the boat's
Top, the crew of the
Misconception, (left to
right) Darren Dean,
Eric Little, Todd
Taylor, and James
Lewis, rest their
paddles and breathe
easy after crossing the
finish line of one leg of
the race. Right,
cayucos sprint out of a
lock as observers
cheer them on from an
escort boat.
captain. "I haven't slept in a week."
Cowles's crew had trained almost
daily for three months.
The first leg of the race—a mere
warm-up—extended about seven
miles from the Atlantic-side town of
Cristobal to the locks at Gatun. Racers
took off from near the Cristobal Yacht
Club about 4 p.m., on the tail-end of a
warm thunderstorm.
The low cayucos sliced efficiently
through the bay's open waters as
racers rocked with the motion of their
wide-bladed paddles. Stretching out
behind them into the Atlantic was a
line of containerized cargo ships wait-
ing to enter the canal.
Two classes of boats compete in the
race: "trophy boats," or four-person
cayucos manned by Explorers vying
for trophies; and "Patch boats," typi-
cally longer vessels with as many as
eight adult racers. Adults get patches
—but no trophies—if they complete
the race.
Many of the Explorers grew up right
here in the Panama Canal Zone, a 10-
mile-wide strip of jungle and mani-
cured lawns on either side of the canal.
Much of the area, now called the "old
zone," is in Panama's hands, as stipu-
lated by a 1977 treaty signed with the
United States. But Panama won't take
control of the canal itself until the end
of the century.
Most of the racers come from fami-
lies still working on U.S. military bases
in the zone or for the Panama Canal
Commission (PCC), which operates
the waterway.
Despite a drop in unit membership
due to an exodus of U.S. citizens, 41
percent of the zone's eligible young
people are involved in Scouting. This
is, in large part, due to the popularity
of the cayuco race.
Molly Williford, captain of the patch
boat Slave Galley is a third-genera-
tion resident of the zone who
remembers watching the race as a lit-
tle girl. This year's race marked the
fourth time she had competed. Her
son, David, was racing on the Post 21
trophy boat Later Daze.
"We're in it for the competition,"
Molly said. "And because it's unique.
E22
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 74, Number 4, September 1986, periodical, September 1986; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353661/m1/68/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.