1,902 BOATS: Final count blows Pittsburgh out of the water, by Adele Burnett
Photos by Barry Lobdell Photography
Inlet’s One Square Mile of Hope Committee has received notification from the Guinness Book of World Records(tm) that on January 31, 2012 their claim for the world’s largest raft formation of canoes, and kayaks, and guideboats was approved.
The new record, 1,902 boats, eclipses the previous record of 1,619 boats that was held by Paddle at the Point on June 5, 2010 in Pittsburgh, PA.After receiving all of the documental evidence from One Square Mile of Hope’s September 24, 2011 event, it did not take the Guinness people long to recognize the accomplishment.
Members of the One Square Mile Committee
This record almost doubled Inlet’s first record of 1104, set on Fourth Lake in 2008.
The event itself raised an impressive $80,000 for breast cancer awareness, education, research and treatment.
Participants traveled from 17 states and two Canadian Provinces to lend their support, with an estimated influx of over 3,000 visitors to Inlet over the September 24 weekend.
“Had Guinness not verified our record, we could have lived with it because of the wonderfully powerful and positive response to our day-long event. But this is the icing on the cake,” said One Square Mile of Hope Committee Co-Chair Connie Perry.
