A side view of the track, just as it begins to level off from the steep incline needed to get cars to ramp speed
FALMOUTH – When’s the last time you saw the words inmate, Boy Scouts, and Guinness Book ofWorld Records in the same sentence? As in:
“With inmates from the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne lending a hand, the Cape & Islands Council of Boy Scouts of America is preparing paperwork it now hopes will land it in the Guinness Book of World Records.”
And there you have it, results from the Council’s annual Camporee, held this year at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds and attracting scouts from ages six to 20. Scores of them showed up from every town on the Cape and Islands: Cub and Boy Scouts (males) as well as Sea Scouts and Explorers (both genders).
The record-breaking event came on an outdoor track the inmates helped construct for a cherished Scout tradition, the Pinewood Derby. The derby features miniature, aerodynamically sandpapered racing cars which follow a descending track, powered only by their own weight and design. No remote control, motors or other mechanical enhancements are allowed. That’s the challenge and the charm of it.
Each contesting Scout was allowed to put his entry against the rest in a week-end marathon of competing vehicles.
Inmate Jason Frazier, on ladder, and an assisting inmate shore up the track. It’s about pallets and sawhorses at this point. The white string line just above the track is intended to mirror the optimum downward trajectory.
The current Guinness record, set two years ago by the BSA’s Boston Minuteman Council, was 320 feet. Like the one at the fairgrounds, it was an outdoor track. Barnstable BSA’s new record, now heading for consideration at Guinness headquarters: 676 feet, 11¾ inches.
“So more than twice as long, a legitimate shattering,” observed county Sheriff Jim Cummings, whose office dispatched the crew of inmate track builders. “They broke it like Humpty Dumpty.”
A standard track for most pinewood derbies, which are usually conducted indoors, is a mere 32 feet. The Cape & Islands record-setter travelled more than 20 times further than that!
“Our thanks to the Sheriff Office for its support!” writes Mike Riley, chief executive of the Cape & Island Council. “We could not have done it without you.”
Another look, only this time we see crew chief and Deputy Blaise Cabral (left) also in photo. You can see how steep that opening incline is. Inmates had to use standard metal construction staging to get it that high.
Media release and photos furnished by Barnstable Sheriff’s Office
