Click on a thumbnail sketch to see the full size picture.

The First Day - Art Judging and Parade

In the months leading up to the Port Townsend race I made some improvements. I replaced the failed freewheel mount with one I machined out of brass. I added a joystick to control the eyes. And I added a workable barnacle seat.

	I'm talking with Hobart Brown.
	Margeaux the Alien strikes a Kinetic Chicken pose.
	In the parade, Margeaux gives the Kinetic Salute. Stuart barnacles on the other side. Tuan and I pilot in the parade.

Flotation Testing

	Elizabeth and I were the pit crew.
	I think it safe to assume this team did not attend the KSR Konstruction Klass in Corvallis when Paul Vibrans explained stability in the water.
	At the flotation test I made an error in judgement. I thought we could get away with using the road tires in the water. But they are slightly larger in diameter than the ATV tires and they rub against the pontoon supports. That prevented the pilots from using the prop to move. They had to use the oars, without oarlocks. The wind was a bit much and they got blown out into the sound. Twice they were towed back to shore, only to get blown out again. The racers also had trouble in that they broke a water conversion lever. We patched it for the race.

The Second Day - The Race

	Bog Beauty is from Seattle.
	The Rex Files on the road.
	Here is a nice picture of Running Mate from Corvallis.
	The Rex Files water entry. Although the float test on the previous day was rocky, the race itself went very smoothly.
	The Rex Files exiting the water.
	The Rex Files in the mud. The pilots encountered no significant difficulty in the mud. We didn't even have to make any lateral moves. They just pedaled on through.
	The Rex Files team at the Finish Line in Port Townsend. Stuart and his mom Laura were pilots. I was pit crew along with Elizabeth. Clare was our Barnacle.
	If you look very closely at the other pictures of The Rex Files during the race, you can almost see Clare. Unfortunately she was always on the wrong side of Rex in the picture. Clare was our alien ballerina. Unfortunately it got cold and she had to put on warm clothes so you cannot see her alien costume. Clare has trained professionally as a ballet dancer. And she has the feather light physique to match. That made her a great choice for a Barnacle.

One of the requirements of Port Townsend is to write a song. But they don't tell you what the requirements of the song are until the first day. This year we were supposed to include the theme 'Carribean Paradise'. I stayed up with Margeaux writing a song Saturday night. But it was a bit long, so Martha whipped out something Sunday morning. In the end we went with the song Clare wrote.

"KSR" by Clare Engelbrecht

• KSR, KSR, how we love KSR
• Love the mud and the road and the sand
• Yes the water's demand
• Is a bit more than planned
• But we love KSR, don't you?
  
  
• In Corvallis The Rex Files has landed,
• From a faraway time and place.
• And now in Port Townsend we're stranded
• so we might as well give up our travels thru space
• We might as well stay and we might as well race
  
  
• KSR, KSR, we have come from afar
• to Port Townsend and though it is nice
• Still we're compelled
• the next race should be held
• in carribbean paradise.

During the race itself everything went pretty smoothly. The pilots got Master awards for never having to pull Rex. We also got 'Spectators Favorite'.

The Awards

Please forgive any innaccuracies and ommissions in this list of awards.

• Poker Award -- Fifi
• Shark Bite (1st out of water) -- Toadboiler
• Big Cheese (1st time P.T. racer) -- Dusty and Dirty from Dallas
• Murphy's Law of Water -- Jug O' Nuts
• Pit Crew Award -- 9-10 Big Fat Hen
• Moxy Award (spirit & determination) -- Unifloater
• Teddy Award -- Bloody Mary
• Sportsmanship -- Bog Beauty
• Rump Roast (best rear) -- Fool of Many Colors
• Spectator Award -- The Rex Files
• Breast of Show -- Speed Bump
• Unlucky -- Desperation of Procrastination
• Family Award -- Peddle Wheeler - John Montgomery
• Naughty Naughty -- Decorators from Dallas

Masters:

• The Rex Files
• 9-10 Big Fat Hen
• Bog Beauty
• Speed Bump

Postscript

On the Wednesday following the race the Port Townsend newspaper Leader showed a front page picture of The Rex Files as a leadin to their article on the Kinetic Sculpture race for 2000. Its a very nice picture showing Rex shortly after entering Puget Sound on race day.

Most photos by John Sechrest.