PORT TOWNSEND — The 2010 Kinetic SkulPTure Race came to a close Sunday evening, with 19 machines crossing the finish line at dusk — more or less.
One that didn’t quite make it, the Almost Human Cannonball, was caught in a sand trap and was taken across the finish line on a flatbed truck.
The failure of the Cannonball underscored the unpredictability of the race, which requires contestants to build their own machines that run the seven-mile course on their own power over land and water.
The team included Steve Vanderberger, a mechanical engineer from Portland, Ore., and four members of his family.
Once the machine broke down, the four finished the course on foot.
They completed the course’s last big obstacle, the mud bog at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, by just diving in — without a machine.
Even though they got dirty, they had an easier time than one of the machines following — the Killer Klowns, which took about 10 minutes to coax through the mud.
Failure in the Kinetic SkulPTure race — the capitalized PT is for, well, the town abbreviation — is relative: The Almost Human Cannonball crew picked up a few awards at the ceremony Sunday night.
It received the “Breast of Show” award for having the best front end.
The awards presented were of a random nature, some were categories from last year and others made up for the occasion.
Prizes were donated by local merchants and bestowed somewhat frivolously.
Yeti Andretti from Sunnyvale, Calif., received the award for traveling the farthest.
The crew’s prizes included a hotel certificate — on the night the crew was leaving town.
The headline Mediocrity Award is given to the machine that finishes the race in the middle.
It went to Kat Bus, piloted by Sara Rowse, 16, of Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Rowse was born the year after her mother was elected Kinetic Kween, which is the event’s highest honor.
“I like this because you can make a fool of yourself, and no one knows who you are,” she said.
On Saturday, sunny and in the 70s, about 1,000 people crowded downtown to witness the parade and the float test, for which the machines drove into the bay near the Northwest Maritime Center to test their seaworthiness.
On Sunday, about half the number of spectators turned out for the actual race because of overcast conditions, according to organizer Janet Emery.
Even so, it was a good event, she said — even if the mud was better last year.
Many of the contestants were from Port Townsend and spend the annum between races building a better sculpture.
Others came from Canada, Corvallis, Ore., and where kinetic skulpture races all started, Humboldt County, Calif.
Emma Breacain from Eureka, Calif., said she spends all of her extra time and money attending kinetic festivals.
“It’s the best waste of money that I can think of,” she said.
Breacain, who is barely 5 feet tall and has been royalty at the original Arcata-to-Ferndale race on Memorial Day weekends, led much of the crowd in a wild dance and served as a cheerleader at the event to get people excited about the entries.
In between the parade and the race, a wild costume ball took place Saturday night as a capacity crowd of 500 crammed into the American Legion Hall.
Miss Bozette, better known as Amber Bartle, received the highest honor, after a wildly choreographed routine that stretched the limits of propriety but stopped short of offensive.
She said she rehearsed the routine for about a week along with several members of her family who wore Bozo the Clown headgear.
Judge Phil Noecky said Bartle was chosen not only for her routine but her experience — her family has built kinetic sculptures for years and competed repeatedly in the races.
“If you are going to be a Kinetic Kween, you need to have experience and background,” he said.
Even so, she seemed to slip in her duties and was scolded by Emery when she failed to toe the line.
“Get down to the water and help the sculptures in,” Emery shouted.
“You are a princess, you are not just a Bozette.”
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Our kinetic reporter, Charlie Bermant, can be reached at 360-385-2335 or via charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.