ST. JOSEPH — The number of cardboard boats in the 2018 Whirlpool Corporation’s “Rock the Boat” race has more than doubled to 64 in its third year — up from 30 last year. There were five boats in the race the first year.

The race in the St. Joseph River starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 19, at the Inn at Harbor Shores, 800 Whitwam Dr., St Joseph. Proceeds from the company-sponsored event will benefit United Way of Southwest Michigan. The race next Thursday kicks off St. Joseph Today’s Midsummer Classic Weekend.

The event is open to the public, and there will be food and T-shirts available for sale. Raffle tickets will be sold on-site for drawings that evening. Spectators can enjoy a beer garden and watch the race on a jumbotron by DPM Events.

The final boat count exceeded Whirlpool’s goal this year of 60 boats. Registration has closed. Racers paid an entry fee of $250.

“This event has really gained popularity around this community over the past few years. To have 64 boats registered is incredible. And all the proceeds, from the boat registration fee to items sold at the event, will benefit United Way of Southwest Michigan,” said Whirlpool Corporation’s Matt Meier, co-chair of Whirlpool Corporation’s United Way campaign.

The life-size boats are made of cardboard, duct tape, and polyurethane, and powered entirely

by human paddling. Many prizes will be handed out throughout the night, from Fastest Boat to Most Creative and Best Themed.

Names of teams and boats are as follows:

• Accenture — The Cool Boat

• AEP Cook Nuclear Power Plant —

Cook Revengers

• Alex’s Veggies — CORNZILLA

• ARS Advertising Inc. — Approved. No Changes.

• Berrien County Health Department sponsored

by CMG Financial — Lettuce Turnip the Beet

• Blossomtime Festival Inc. — Royalty Racers

• CAC/CXC — KNOTTY CXC

• Caring Circle, The – Up Up and Away

• CELEBRATION! CINEMA BENTON HARBOR

— Flick’s Dinghy

• Consumer Products Group – SeaPG

• Deloitte Consulting LLP (GSS) —

Compensation Nation

• Dr. Kasewurm’s Professional Hearing Services —

Shake Your Tail Feather

• Erhard Furniture & Flooring — The Swimterns

• Fenner Homes – Maiden Lane Cottages

• Gast Manufacturing — Gast Boat #1

• Gast Manufacturing — Gast Parrot Heads

• Great Lakes Drone Company – DroneBait

• GSS Indirect — Boaty McBoatface

• Haymarket Brewery and Taproom — U.S.S. BOB

• Hellmann Worldwide Logistics — (GSS) —

ISC you at the finish line

• Holt Bosse — Wise Kraken

• JennAir (Marketing) — T Part

• Kinexus — The InternShip

• Lake Michigan College — Rocky BalBOATa

• The Livery — McGilligans Island

• Niles-Buchanan YMCA — S.S. Nessie (“Sweat Ship Nessie”)

• North Pier Brewing Co. — North Pier Nation

• Overture — The Overture

• Pasha Hawaii  — U.S.S. Operation Sinks Alot

• Peat’s Original Cider — Hard Core

• ROCK 107 WIRX — S.S. Good Enough II

• Silver Harbor Brewing Co. — Shipfaced

• Southwestern Michigan College — Roadrunner

• United Federal Credit Union — This Putts 4 U

• United Way of Southwest Michigan — Out of Time

• Whirlpool (Finance) — Liquid Asset

• Whirlpool Corporation (Corporate Communications) — Noel’s Ark

• Whirlpool Corporation — Best Buy Sales Team —Best Buy Sails

• Whirlpool Corporation — Cooking Engineering Team – AcquaCucina

• Whirlpool Corporation — Home Depot — Big Orange

• Whirlpool Corporation — Key Account Sales — S.S. MPI Cutter

• Whirlpool Corporation — Key Account Sales — The Yellow Submarine

• Whirlpool Corporation — Kitchen Team — One Love, One Kitchen

• Whirlpool Corporation — Quality — The Incredible Hull

• Whirlpool Corporation — Camakau LEARN

• Whirlpool Corporation — Gone Phishin’

• Whirlpool Corporation –— Unsinkable II

• Whirlpool Corporation (GIS) — U.S.S. Big

Data 2.0

• Whirlpool Corporation — Sinking Ship

• Whirlpool Creative Studios — Floating Arrrtists!

• Whirlpool Field Sales — S.S. Under

Allocated Part II

• Whirlpool Field Sales — FSNC Rocks —

In it to WIN it!

• Whirlpool Hispanic and Latino ERG — WHL

• Whirlpool Human Resources — H-Arrgh

• Whirlpool Laundry (Marketing) —

The Extra Power Agitators

• Whirlpool Law Department —

The Ex Parte Barge

• Whirlpool PRIDE ERG — PRIDE

• Whirlpool Quality Team — S.S. Safe Launch

• Whirlpool WERLD Program —

W.E.R.L.D. Domination

• Whirlpool Women’s Network ERG —

Champions for Change

• Whirlpool: Brand & Strategy Organization —

S.S. B&S

• Wightman — S.S. Hasselhoff

• Wipro Limited — Wipro BOT

• Y-County 97.5 — S.S. Y Tanic

For more information, visit uwsm.org/rocktheboat.

United Way of Southwest Michigan fights for the Health, Education and Financial Stability of

every person in every community, officials said. By harnessing resources from corporate, nonprofit, and public partners, United Way provides immediate assistance to our most vulnerable populations while addressing the root causes of southwest Michigan’s community’s longstanding challenges and changing lives for the better, they added.