Laughter could be heard everywhere as the guests of the Painted Turtle headed down to Swy-a-Lana Lagoon on Sunday.  The Silly Boat Regatta was in full swing and a goodtime was had by all. The first team to sink last year came out on top on Sunday, despite losing a rudder in the championship race at the 25th annual Silly Boat Regatta at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon. Creative craziness abounded at the sink-or-swim races, where a record 57 teams donned costumes in their quest to help kids. The regatta is a fundraiser for the Nanaimo Child Development Centre, which reduced its wait lists for children seeking experts from three years to one, thanks in part to the Silly Boat Regatta. As many as 10,000 people could be found at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon on Sunday, where it was shoulder-to-shoulder for spectators crammed along the crab dock, beach and bridge to take in the action. Teams this year dressed as pirates, vikings and superheroes, constructing precarious watercrafts from cardboard, duct tape, milk cartons and more. Some teams used foam, tarps, balloons and PVC pipe to fashion floatable creations in the friendly competition. A handful of teams sank shortly after shoving off of shore, leading to friendly groans and laughs from the thousands of assembled spectators dotting the rocky banks. Lets who that next year we see a Painted Turtle swimming amongst all those boats.