Flotilla

All is calm.  They suspect nothing...

As we prepared our aquatic invasion, I was impressed by the girls' self-sufficiency.  They had it down to a science; they knew exactly what they were doing and did not require any supervision or assistance.   That's more than I can say for some adults (such as yours truly).

Girl power!

"Yeah, we got it under control. No grown-ups required."

Ready to launch!

Left: Store-bought plastic kayak.                              Right: Home-made wood kayak.
Verdict: Bliss all-round. 

So as you can see, we were starting to assemble our, er, group of boats.  This is probably as good a time as any to look up the words fleet, flotilla, and armada.*  Here are some takes from armchairgeneral.com:

"Czin" says:

A flotilla is a typicially homogenous group of smaller ships like destroyers and frigates, the term squadron is reserved for the bigger ships like cruisers and BBs, the term flotilla is falling out of use as ships grow larger however. 

Armada is simply another way of saying fleet, there is no official definition of what constitutes an Armada, any collection of ships can be called an Armada.

"Afghanisdan" says:

Flotilla: A group of similar sized ships (six or more) not necessarily under unified command, but at least unified by mission. Not really an official naval term any more. They used to be the same as a squadron of small sized vessels, but that use fell off during WWII. 

Armada: A very large mass of ships put together for a VERY large mission, typically an invasion. Like a super-sized naval Task Force. 

Fleet: A very general term now days. In the US Navy it is still used as term for all ships assigned to a geographical area under a major command.

Hmm.  Not so clear-cut as I was hoping.  The only term I'm confident about ruling out at this point is Armada.  Not quite sure what makes for an armed vessel, but I'm pretty sure it requires more than two arms per paddler.

Assembling the Father's Day fleet / flotilla / group of boats 

(And don't ask me to figure out whether kayaks and canoes can be called "boats" or whether that is a special technical term that only includes 12-foot sailboats, naval destroyers, and inflatable dinghies.)

Our athletes

Pssst.... Wanna buy a duck? 

Victory!!!

Afterward, we convened for a lovely Father's Day celebration for three fathers and six of their progeny (as well as the women who made it all possible).  The exact number of attendees is left as an exercise for the student.

FN* For what it's worth, here's what Merriam-Webster has to say:

Flotilla: a fleet of ships or boats; especially : a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warships
Armada: 1 : a fleet of warships; 2 : a large force or group usually of moving things
Fleet: 1 : a number of warships under a single command; specifically : an organization of ships and aircraft under the command of a flag officer; 2 : group 2a, b; especially : a group (as of ships, planes, or trucks) operated under unified control