Creative boats and paddle boards sail away

Participants and spectators getting ready for the Dingly Dash competition. Stephany Rivera|Lariat

Dingly Dash participants talk about the competition and festival

The city of Dana Point celebrates its 51st annual celebration, the Festival of Whales. The festival brings people from local cities within Dana Point to celebrate with entertainment, such as their traditional parade, games, music and food.

Dingly Dash, a competition involving cardboard paddle boards and boats, was once again rolling this year to the many local residents who participate in the Festival of Whales. Drew Reynolds, a local resident participating in the Dingly Dash competition, says it’s his first time ever in this competition.

“We’ve lived in Dana Point for a long time so the festival is quote on quote in our blood,” Reynolds says. “This is our first time in the Dingly Dash and I think the Whale festival is an amazing fundraiser thrown by the city and the harbor.”

Another pair of competitors were Jenn Humboldt and Devon Vaggs. They both paddle for Performance Paddling and Dana Outrigger. Performance Paddling is a paddle board club for adults and children in which they compete and learn paddle boarding, meanwhile Dana Outrigger is a competitive canoe racing club in Dana Point.

“This is my first time participating in the Dingly Dash,” Humboldt says. “It was nice seeing everyone come back and support such a great event, it’s super fun.”

They both competed in this activity with the help of their friend Edd Night, who helped them with the design and building of their cardboard creation.

 “Our friend Edd, who also paddleboards with us, designed the boat for us,” Humboldt says. 

Night who has been going to this festival for quite a while says that they will probably be doing this competition next year with the same cardboard boat they competed with this year. 

Another group of competitors who got third place this year were Sebastian Borquez, Riley Lentholl and Trey Michulka. 

“I did this four year ago in eighth grade, I don’t remember how well I did but it was fun,” Lentholl says. 

Sebastian was their captain this year for the competition. “Our boat sank but we still finished, so immediately it sank that we started paddling with our legs and made it until the end” Sebastian says.

The boys were psyched about winning third place, which was an experience that was very fun for them.

The participants in this competition had a fun experience not only while competing but also enjoying the amazing festival. 

As Reynolds says, “This is a city with a lot of history, a town with a lot of history and I think is a great opportunity for the locals to come out and love and appreciate the community.” 

A city who cares for the environment and the support of their community which is a must go for other locals and tourists to come over to support this festival.

Dana Point locals once again have shown everyone their artistic and creativeness with their cardboards designs for the Dingly Dash. A tradition that has been happening for almost eight years and that once again brought fun into many spectators and competitors.

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