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A scary moment for the crew aboard the “Hammer of the Gods.” Luckily, the vessel was able to sail on. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

The mighty Peconic River proved to be too much of a beast for a group of Scandinavian warriors searching for victory in Riverhead Sunday. Nearly a dozen men had to pull the remains of their sinking viking vessel, Hammer of the Gods, from the water after it began to flounder.

Doc Brown cheered on Marty McFly and crew as they raced their floating Delorean up the river, though they never hit the 88 mph needed to activate the flux capacitor.

And Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains came ready for battle, but in the end the poor Khaleesi didn’t even make it out of port.

Such was the scene at the Riverhead Cardboard Boat Race Sunday, an annual event in which participants race cardboard kayaks and barges up the Peconic and hope the makeshift vessels don’t sink. The event, sponsored by the Riverhead Business Improvement District Management Association and Riverhead Town, drew about 2,500 people to the riverbanks in its sixth year.

Participants can only use duct tape and cardboard to build their water crafts.

“It started out as a family event and we just love it,” said Riverhead Town Councilman George Gabrielsen, who, along with his daughter Kristina as well as Laurie and Kevin Zaneski of Riverhead, organized the event this year. “It’s probably one of our biggest draws. It’s always a winner.”

Attendance estimates were slightly lower than the average 3,000 spectators the event typically draws, likely because the event was rescheduled following a massive fish kill in the river in June.

And although organizers said there might have been fewer participants this year than in races past, the contestants who did show up brought the usual creativity and architectural ingenuity to the yearly tradition.

Bob Stiles of Bohemia said he and his clan usually call a family meeting at Thanksgiving to start discussing what they will build for the summer event. This year Stiles dressed as Barney Rubble, while other members of crew wore Fred, Wilma, Betty and Pebbles costumes, and they recreated the Flintstones’ prehistoric sedan in cardboard.

The Stiles have raced in the event since its inception, taking home several honors along the way.

“If we win today it will be our seventh trophy,” Stiles said. “We use full-time kayakers. They are conditioned for this.”

Robert Holeman of Shirley and his coworkers at Floyd Harbor Realty in Mastic used carpet tubes and duct tape strips turned into improvised rope to build a bright yellow raft.

“We lovingly call it the ‘mac ‘n cheese’ craft,” Holeman said. “I’ve been coming for years, I’ve spectated but I always wanted to do it. When I heard it was postponed, I rounded up all the agents and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”

But members of the League of Awesome Cardboard Boat Builders are perennially the event’s showstoppers, this year constructing a cardboard replica of the DeLorean time machine from the “Back to the Future” movies.

Team members came dressed as the movie’s iconic characters, including Marty McFly and Biff Tannen. The group has also come as the cast of Gilligan’s Island and Ghostbusters characters in years past.

“It just gets bigger and bigger,” said Mark Sisson of Mattituck, who wore a white wig and goggles à la Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown. “We had 12 people working on it. We couldn’t even keep track of all the duct tape we used this year.”

See more images from the race and the complete results on the following pages.

Members of the League of Awesome Carboard Boat Racers accept their award for best costumed crew.
Members of the League of Awesome Carboard Boat Builders accept their award for best costumed crew.
Lauren and Mark Sisson of Mattituck.
Lauren and Mark Sisson of Mattituck.

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Gavin Walsh of Sayville celebrates his team's win.
Gavin Walsh of Sayville celebrates his team’s win.

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Mark Sisson and Katrina Lovett cheer on their team.
Mark Sisson and Katrina Lovett cheer on their team.

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Riverhead Town Councilman Jim Wooten with Connor Zaneski and Alex Chiaramonte, both of Riverhead.
Riverhead Town Councilman Jim Wooten with Connor Zaneski and Alex Chiaramonte, both of Riverhead.

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Barbara Aylward of Bohemia and Rob Stiles of East Moriches, members of "Team Coconutz."
Barbara Aylward of Bohemia and Rob Stiles of East Moriches, members of Team Coconutz.
The singles race.
The singles race.
VERA CHINESE PHOTO   The Hammer of the Gods did not fare too well in the race.
The Hammer of the Gods did not fare too well in its race.
A scary moment for "Hammer of the Gods."
A scary moment for Hammer of the Gods.
Deawna Harris (back) and Kerri Harris of Dover, Delaware and their team "Return of the Dragonfly" tak first place in their heat.
Deawna Harris (back) and Kerri Harris of Dover, Del., and their team, Return of the Dragonfly, take first place in their heat.
Members of the team "Hammer of the Gods" make the best of the situation.
Hammer of the Gods team members make the best of the situation.
The remains of "Hammer of the Gods."
The remains of Hammer of the Gods.
Robert Holeman of Shirley, Christine Zitzelberger of Kings Park, Michele and Jeffrey Jimenez of Mastic and Walter Florian of Mastic.
Robert Holeman of Shirley, Christine Zitzelberger of Kings Park, Michele and Jeffrey Jimenez of Mastic and Walter Florian of Mastic.
Marie Stiles of Bohemia (Wilma Flintstone), Rob Stiles of East Moriches (Fred Flintstone), Christine and Isa Hollander (Pebbles Flintston) of Bohemia, Bob Stiles of Bohemia (back, Barney Rubble) and Barbara Aylward of Bohemia (Betty Rubble.)
Marie Stiles of Bohemia (Wilma Flintstone), Rob Stiles of East Moriches (Fred Flintstone), Christine and Isa Hollander (Pebbles Flintston) of Bohemia, Bob Stiles of Bohemia (back, Barney Rubble) and Barbara Aylward of Bohemia (Betty Rubble.)
Stephanie Ducharme and Jeff Drum of Lebanon, Conn. and Carrie Wilson and Greg Haddad of Windham Conn. and their boat, "Amos P. Belle."
Stephanie Ducharme and Jeff Drum of Lebanon, Conn., and Carrie Wilson and Greg Haddad of Windham, Conn., and their boat, Amos P. Belle.

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Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst beat Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter in the annual supervisors race.
Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst beat Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter in the annual supervisors’ race.
Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter leaves the river after losing the supervisor's race.
Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter leaves the river after losing the supervisor’ race.
Members of the League of Awesome Cardboard Boat Racers.  Tom Lovett as Bif, Chris Paparo of Calverton (holding lightning bolt), Nora Catlin, Lauren Sisson, Mark Sisson as Doc Brown, Katrina Lovett as a typical person from 2015, Amanda Lovett, Chris McHugh of Riverhead as Marty McFly and George McFly.
Members of the League of Awesome Cardboard Boat Racers.
From left: Tom Lovett as Biff, Chris Paparo of Calverton (holding lightning bolt), Amanda Lovett as Lorraine, Mark Sisson as Doc Brown, Lauren Sisson as a prom guest, Katrina Lovett as a “typical” girl from 2015, Nora Catlin as Jennifer, Chris McHugh as Marty McFly, Candace Paparo as the “Save the Clock Tower” lady and John Lovett as George McFly.
Jovan Trent, 9, of Riverhead participates in the hula hoop contest.
Jovan Trent, 9, of Riverhead participates in the hula hoop contest.
Nikkie Friedman of Manhasset as The Khaleesi with her son Gavin Friedman.
Nikkie Friedman of Manhasset as The Khaleesi with her son Gavin Friedman.

2015 Cardboard Boat Race Results

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