The tide was in their favor. The wind was not.
So this afternoon’s Great Duck Race was contested at less than warp speed.
That hardly mattered. A large crowd gathered at Parker Harding Plaza. Kids enjoyed face painting, a bounce house and games.
Adults bought rubber “ducks” — over 2,000 of them. At 3 p.m. they were dumped in the river.
At 3:30 the race began. Slowly — very slowly — the ducks made their way downstream.
Finally, a winner emerged. That duck earned its owner a $5,000 Visa debit card.
Nine other winners shared other Visa prizes.
But the real winners are the recipients of more than $20,000 in grants and projects that Westport Sunrise Rotary can now fund.
A Sunrise Rotary member wrangles over 2,000 ducks before the start of the race.
Crowds gathered at Parker Harding Plaza to enjoy duck-related activities.
One of the main attractions was a vintage fire engine.
First Selectman Jim Marpe sported a Sunrise Rotary Great Duck Race hat.
It was a slow, but photo, finish near the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Memorial Bridge.
So who won?
Are the ducks collected and removed from the water after the race? Or are they allowed to float out into the open ocean to join one of the great plastic garbage patches?