In spite of a dismal, and fairly accurate, weather forecast, more than 1800 canoes and kayaks showed up at the Point to break the Guinness World Record for a flotilla of boats. The Mon Wharf was full of boat owners by 10 a.m., so the overflow went across the Allegheny to the Heinz Field ramp, where the renters were launching. Venture Outdoors organized and documented the event.
Everyone was in place well ahead of time, as ominous clouds rolled in from the Ohio, so boats dispersed early--just in time for a torrential downpour, but thankfully, no lightning. It seemed that all the boats wanting to return to the Mon Wharf were upstream on the Allegheny, and all the boats wanting to cross the Allegheny to the Heinz Field ramp were on the Monongahela side of the Point, so there was lots of head-on ramming as boats raced for cover.
The Post-Gazette reports that it will take a month or two for Guinness to validate Pittsburgh's new record. The current record is 1104 boats, held by the Inlet Business Areas of New York, which surpassed Cleveland's record of 776 boats.
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