Sarasota team prepares for Red Bull Candola race

By day, Jared Serfozo and Jason Owens put their computer skills to use working for a content-management-system company. By night, they head to Serfozo’s garage, throw back a few Red Bulls and get to work building a giant helmet-shaped boat they’ll soon race down the New River in Fort Lauderdale.

Along with their third mate, Matt Beilan, who lives in Orlando, these Sarasota sailors form Team HelmetCam-Dola, one of 27 teams competing in the second Red Bull Candola, a .33-mile race, in which teams race man-powered gondolas and show off their creativity.

The three met while attending the University of Central Florida. Serfozo and Beilan were instrumental in rekindling the school’s kite-boarding team, which they filmed with helmet cameras. This experience is evident in their team’s theme, which was inspired by Red Bull’s signature high-quality extreme sports videos.

“We wanted our theme to be a tribute to all the camera men,” Serfozo said. “So, our boat is going to be a giant upside-down Red Bull helmet, and we’re all going to wear helmet cams.”

The boat is currently under construction in Serfozo’s garage, where the team just finished wrapping the entire vessel in duct tape, an interesting technique for waterproofing it. The three plan to test the helmet cam-dola’s buoyancy in the next few days, before adding the finishing touches.

“Hopefully, it floats with all three of us in there,” Serfozo said. “We’re pushing it kind of close now.”

Serfozo has also competed in Red Bull’s popular Flugtag event, which led him to discover the Candola race.

“It was actually a last-minute decision to enter,” Serfozo said. “I called Matt and Jason to see if they would want to do it, and they said, ‘Sure.’ So, we applied the day before deadline, and they accepted us.”

With degrees in finance, philosophy and digital media, the team faces some stiff competition (they’ll be pitted against teams of engineers) at the April 14 race. But Team HelmetCam-Dola remains confident in its abilities.

Winners are chosen on more than the race results. Teams are awarded for the creativity of their floats and the short skits they are required to perform, and this trio feels its members possess the charisma and people skills required to win over the crowd.

“We don’t possess a lot of shame,” Owens said. “We’re out to have a lot of fun, and we’re one of the younger teams. We’re at an age where we don’t have to worry about shame quite yet.”

If nothing else, the team looks forward to the opportunity to participate in such a unique competition.

“It’s an absolutely absurd event,” Owens said. “It’s something we can remember for the rest of our lives.”