Far too long ago I mentioned the idea of having some kind of Hive boat races in the river behind my house here in Cambodia, and I've finally found the time to do a trial run.
First Some Dad-Daughter Bonding 🥴
Now that Srey-Yuu is a full throttle teenager she's lost her need for hugs and love from her dad. Little does she know that she'll look back on her childhood some day and feel so thankful she had a stay-at-home self-employed dad that spent so much time with her. Sometimes I give little sister or the mothership my phone, then grab Srey-Yuu and reign her in like a wild animal for a forced and awkward dad-daughter photo like this one.
🐈⬛ Ms. Meow Too
ChairWoman Meow learned a hard lesson recently, and that lesson is that not all amphibians are edible. Some frog or toad she caught recently had her shooting foam from her mouth, so I had to pull her away from it for fear she might've been hallucinating and dealing with some toxins. I think she's okay now, but perhaps the experience changed some synapses in her brain or rewired something. Either way she seems a little wiser from the experience, slightly more pensive than the days when all amphibians were safe for the Meow dinner table.
🤔 An Educational Trial Run 🛥️
My wife recently made a few toy boats from some scrap wood to entertain my idea of having mini whitewater Hive boat races. The original idea was to have 20 to 40 small wooden boats float down a section of the whitewater river behind our house here in the Cardamom Mountains, and whatever boats cross the finish line first are the winners. Perhaps a $2 HBD entry fee, therefore $80 HBD if 40 boats, then keep half and use half for prizes like a $20 HBD 1st place, $15 HBD 2nd place, and $5 3rd place prize.
The general idea was easy to come up with, but the logistics have been much daunting. How to film it and/or snap photos to make it engaging and exciting, how to build the boats, where to do it, and so many more things need to be figured out before attempting to collect funds and have a real race. This day involved putting 3 boats the size of a banana in the river and simply watching what happened.
I had my wife at one end of the river wait for my signal with the boats as I ran to the other end where there is a narrow section that would be easy to see and catch them. When I waved at my wife to release the boats, I assumed she would keep an eye on them and note which way they flowed or traveled, but she lost sight of them and didn't try to track them at all. This left swim-hiking upstream with my phone in one hand in search of the boats.
I found one of them trapped in the rocks not far from where my wife launched them, couldn't find one, and the third boat kind of floated downstream, but was getting pushed by the wind and not moving nearly as rapidly as I had thought it would. This was a very educational test though, and I now know that the boats will need to be painted so that they are easy to spot and that no matter where we launch the boats, it's likely half of them will never even reach the finish line. This will mean a lot of time spent recovering and searching for stuck boats after each race, but I still think $40 HBD and the post rewards will make it worth my time when I can finish 40 boats and have them ready for a proper race.
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A long time ago or as far as I remember, there was a contest that you held in the #aseanhive community.about small boats,If I'm not mistaken, at that time the contest was for boats made of plastic or made of paper or from book sheets.and as far as I remember, the participants were from Aceh who took part in the contest, one of us who won was from Aceh.but for now the contest or the boat is made of wood,It is indeed difficult to distinguish the colors of the small boats that you release.maybe if you check it or color it a different color.perhaps it is even easier to recognize the smaller boats.if the boat gets stuck.or if the boat stops for a moment on the river bank, if its color is bright, we will definitely know its whereabouts.
You're right, the natural color of the wood is very hard to see in the river, and there are already so many sticks and pieces of wood in the water, so easy to confuse. Bright colors will help a lot, so I'll have to buy some spray paint next time I get a chance. I also think if the race can be in a swift section of the river, it will be more exciting and the boats won't get stuck.
Cool to hear that you didn't give up on that idea. I know how easy it is to do so...
I like the idea of boats instead of plastic ducklings, but bright colors will surely help to keep track.
Nice cuddle pic! Enjoy it, while you (still) can.
P.S. Did Meow's eyes already look like that, or did the 🐸 do this to her?
The ducks would probably work, but after an experiment I realized the ducks are top heavy and will all cross the finish line on their sides, making it not very easy to identify which duck is which. I really want that special finish line shot, so I think unflippable boats will be better, perhaps each one with unique paint jobs or decorations.
Every now and then Srey-Yuu actually hugs me believe it or not, but those moments are rare for a 14-year-old. I think the photo of Meow was several hours after, but in general she hasn't been the same cat since, the frog might've turned her 5% Amazonian shaman kitty.
That makes sense.
🙂
Is she now avoiding (living ) green food?
Well it would be good to find out if any of the boats can actually make it to the finish line. getting caught on a rock is just one of the things that can happen to someone! But we do need to make sure that it is at least possible for one of them to make it all the way. You might need some extra hands or a net to make sure we don't lose half of them.
It will definitely add a half hour or more of time to search for and collect boats, and I have to assume I'll lose two or three every race. That being said, dumping a heap of mini boats into the river is guaranteed to be more exciting than two or three, and if there 20 to 40 boats, surely at least 3 would always reach the finish line.
At the minimum it will be a two-man job, easy enough for one person to stand in a narrow section of the river to catch all the boats while another person heads upstream to sweep for lost boat after the winners have finished.
Yay! 🤗
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I will be really glad to see this idea come to fruition, thanks.