PORT TOWNSEND — Exhibiting a “kan-do” spirit, racers persevered through surf, sand and a sea of sticky mud to finish the Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Skulpture Race on Sunday with most of their dignity — and their craft — intact.
“I did finish — that’s the main thing,” said Ray Grier, whose sculpture collapsed last year.
Grier won the award for “most time,” while “Time Flies,” a giant monowheel piloted by Bob Durst, took the “best time” award in the 22nd Kinetic Skulpture Race, held Sunday under sunny skies.
The kooky race attracted 18 vehicles from California, Oregon and Washington, including Grier’s Looziana Mudbug.
Some, like Grier’s, are bicycles with floats while others, like the big-wheel Locknutz Monsta, are giant vehicles with four pilots.
But all rely on human power to pedal them though the water, up and down hills, and through sand and mud.
“You can do this — just keep going,” said Dean Bartl, another single entry, as he accepted the Lucky Duct Award for best use of duct tape.
