According to Wikipedia, a flotilla is simply a “fleet of ships or boats”. So what exactly is a “Floatzilla”? For the 5th year running, Mississippi River Network member and non-profit from Davenport, Iowa, River Action, has hosted an annual Floatzilla event to break the world record of 2,099 was set in Suttons Bay, Michigan last year.
On Saturday, August 16th, 2014, hundreds of paddlers convened at Lake Potter in Rock Island, Illinois to take to the water in hopes of breaking a Guinness World Record.
The picture for Guinness was scheduled to be taken at 2 pm, but due to windy weather conditions, the photo was snapped a few minutes early. Part of the record stipulations is no vessel in the flotilla can be touching anything that is connected to land. The wind was not forgiving and, unfortunately, some boats didn’t make it in time! Lesson learned from this year’s Floatzilla: start the flotilla farther away from shore to account for wind!
Although we did not break a world record this year, River Action was successful in getting 959 boats on the River! It was not just an event for the die-hard paddlers and river rats, but it was more of a celebration of our connection to the River.
River Action’s vision is to “foster the environmental, economic, and cultural vitality of the Mississippi River and its riverfront in the Quad City region”. They did this with flying colors at the 2014 Floatzilla by hosting live music, local food vendors, and boat and supplies vendors! The sights, sounds, and colors of the Floatzilla make it a fun event for all ages!
If you missed Floatzilla this year be sure to register for the event (and even a rental boat) for next year and be sure to “like” them on Facebook!
I managed to find a boat of my own I can’t wait to take on the Floatzilla challenge with my new kayak in 2015! See you on the River!
Jessica Zimmerman is the Iowa and Northern Illinois Outreach Assistant for the
1 Mississippi campaign and can be reached at ia1mississippi@biodiverse.org .