Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race |
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Saturday 5 May 2018
For the 20th Anniversary East Coast Kinetic Sculpture Race Championship, the weather was nearly perfect. Unusually, the harbor was covered with a robust green sheen of spring pollen.
Our 5 all-terrain photographers followed the race from start to finish, taking 7,948 photos. The best 225 are in this report.
Click the “Next Page >” button to go to the next team, or select any of the teams listed at the bottom of the page.
To see others’ coverage of the race, or to tell others about your race experiences, be sure to check out the Kinetic Forum.
2018 Grand Champion: Baltimore Wheel Estate
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Taking home both the 2018 Grand Mediocre Championship and Pilots’ Choice, Baltimore Wheel Estate: Location, Rotation, Floatation brought the streets of Baltimore to the streets of Baltimore in Kinetic form. Six pilots drove the formstone walls, marble porch steps, and Calvert family flag banners along fourteen miles of Baltimore streets, sand, mud, and water. |
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They raced along Key Highway, with the Inner Harbor in the background, including the glass triangles of the National Aquarium. |
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On the water, bold foot-powered paddlewheels churned for propulsion, while the No Parking signs transformed into rudders. |
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Painted screens are a Baltimore tradition, and the window screens of Wheel Estate commemorate the local icons including the Bromo-Seltzer tower, American Visionary Art Museum, Edgar Allen Poe, and the US Navy Sloop Constellation. |
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As Hilltop Carry-Out restaurant staff watched, a volunteer kinetic chicken and police escort ensured a smooth trip to the finish line. |
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The official rules state: Each Sculpture must carry at all times 1 comforting item of psychological luxury heretofore referred to as the “Homemade Sock Creature” (HSC). Homemade Sock Creature must be made in a home, from a not-too-recently-worn sock from the home, and resemble a creature homemade from a sock. (penalty: 1 hour) The sock puppet for Wheel Estate is a monkey displayed in this basement window shrine. Divine leaned out one window, and another had a poster for Baltimore Ceasefire. |
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They jubilantly crossed the finish line tape at the American Visionary Art Museum to complete the 6-hour race. |
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At the awards ceremony, they received the championship trophy. |
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This is this team’s tenth annual entry, and third grand championship:
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