Rubber ducks race down river for charity

Saturday's race on the Wando River might be one of the few in which its competitors don't train or have any control on how well they perform.

These "athletes" were 15,000 rubber ducks dumped into the water as part of the Rotary Club of Daniel Island's third annual Charity Duck Race.

The ducks plummeted from the Wando River bridge onto the race course at 11 a.m., and they floated for about a half-hour down a quarter-mile stretch of water to the finish line. The tide and a couple of boats with an inflatable boom propelled the ducks to their destination.

The boats' first attempt to corral the ducks to the finish line failed, and a number of wayward ducks floated outside the course boundaries. Boaters used nets to scoop up those wayward ducks.

Families gathered on a nearby dock and stood at the river's bank to cheer on their adopted ducks, which they acquired for a suggested donation of $10. The owners of the first 25 ducks that finished the race won prizes between $100 and $15,000. The top 10 finishers each had a shot at winning $1 million, but no one did.

Thomas Sisson of Daniel Island won the second largest prize, $3,000, and he cheered and threw his hands in the air when his name was announced. Sisson has some good friends in the Rotary Club and comes to the duck race every year. He and his fiancee are getting married next month and likely will put the money toward new carpet.

"It's just a good event for charity," he said.

The duck race broke its record for the number of ducks adopted, 13,599, which was 243 more than last year. The event raised $135,000, and the money will go to the club's community service projects as well as the Down Syndrome Association of the Lowcountry, East Cooper Community Outreach, East Cooper Meals on Wheels, Friends of the Berkeley County Library and Junior Achievement of Coastal South Carolina.

Hundreds of rubber duck races are held across the world each year. The largest race in the United States benefits the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati, according to Wikipedia. Last year, 86,000 ducks raced down the Ohio River to raise money for the organization.

After the race on Daniel Island, children played in jump castles while others participated in line dances under a large tent.

Elizabeth Perkis and her daughters, ages 1 and 4, ate lunch in the shade of the big tent, and Perkis said her daughters' only disappointment in the day was that they couldn't keep the ducks they adopted.

"It's a fun way to come out and support a good cause," she said.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@post andcourier.com.