Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race
2018 Race Report: The Jemicy Three

The Jemicy School of Baltimore entered three sculptures this year with a Where's Waldo theme. The first was Wenda, with four pilots and a thicket of red and white stripes.

Wenda’s pilots met the harbor with a gigantic splash.

All 3 Jemicy sculptures submitted their sculptures under the more stringent and challenging ACE rules, several of which are evident here:

• Pit crew can observe and can stop a sculpture moving backward—but they cannot ever push it forward. These pit crew hold their hands up to demonstrate to ACE judges that no pushing is occuring.
• ACE teams must carry all equipment for the entire race with them. Wenda switched its rear wheels between smoother road tires and gnarlier mud and water tires, so the tires not in use are carried behind the pilots.
• Getting out of the water while ACEing is one of the hardest portions of the course. It’s uphill and wet, and rear wheels are usually floating.
• The other major ACE rule is that the same pilots must drive the sculpture for the entire race—no swapping out.

The pit crew show more of the hands-off approach here, although their feet sometimes work as chocks to prevent backsliding.

The floatation is still in the lower water configuration as they pass St. Casimir’s Church, but was moved to the upper configuration so it doesn’s drag in the mud.

The Jemicy School has entered every year since 2004:

• 2017: Open Wide Here Comes the Plane, Like Peas in a Pod, You Scream Ice Cream!, and Doughnut Get in My Way
• 2016: Boogie Man, Cry Babies, Dragon Racer, Pocket Monster, Hydra, Math-lete, Flying Phoenix, Little Krach, and Ancient Hooptie
• 2015: Stripes, Safari Hon, Cheetah Cheetah Pumkin Eatah, and Snake Rattle & Roll
• 2014: Going for Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, Takes the Cake, Icing on the Cake, Have Your Cake and Eat It Too, and It’s my Daddy’s Beemer and I’ll Cry if I Want To
• 2013: You Know the Drill, Hammer Time, and Gut Wrencher
• 2012: Traffic Jam, Jeepers, Going Postal, Hot Rod, and Keep On Truckin’
• 2011: Vechysvboat, Einherjar, Odin, Ve and Vidar, Buri, and Brunehilde
• 2010: Veke Versa Boat, Squid Man, Kraken, Cabrena Octopus & Calamari
• 2009: Critter, Lady Jaye, Low Rider Max, Sneaky Moose, and Philly Flyer
• 2008: Revelation, The Sneaky Moose, and Viscar Boot Attempt #3
• 2007: Valkin Visker Bote II, Daisy Pushers, Subdude
• 2006: Subdude and Dia de la Ardilla Muerta
• 2005: Big Baby, Gerbil & Chariot, and Viking & Moose
• 2004: Valking Viscar Boot

The Wenda crew celebrated their successful ACE at the finish line.

The next Jemicy sculpture was Waldo, also bearing an explosion of red and white stripes.

Pausing for breath at the Katyn Memorial Circle checkpoint, although the signs remind One Way, No Stopping!

Waldo’s giant splash into the harbor.

Waldo also achieved ACE status, but much more slowly than Wenda. In fact, Waldo won the Next-to-Last award for a penultimate finish, trailed on the racecourse by only Golden Fleece.

The third Jemicy sculpture was the single-pilot Odlaw, a trike based on Waldo’s nemesis, with black and yellow stripes, sunglasses, and moustache.

In contrast to Waldo, Odlaw completed the racecourse faster than every other sculpture (both with and without time penalties). Odlaw was first across the finish line—beating the Croc by almost 2 minutes— and received the Speed award.

Odlaw also achieved an ACE.

Odlaw addresses the crowd after receiving the Speed award.