Occoquan, Va. - Saturday's slight wind and blue skies gave the thumbs-up for Occoquan's fourth annual rub-bery ducky race on the river -- unlike last year's, when thunderstorms hit not just once but twice and delayed operations by almost an hour.
"We timed the tides, we had this all figured out, when we were going to drop them, how the tides would run," said Zoe Vitter, vice president of the Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition, the nonprofit that has overseen the race twice. "Then thunderstorms happened and we were delayed 45 minutes. By the time the weather cleared, the tides changed, so it took a long time for the ducks" to finish racing.
As if things couldn't get worse, thunderstorms hit again at the tail end. But this past Satur-day's 1:30 p.m. start time dawned balmy and clear, and the ducks awaited patiently the cutting of the tarp cords that would drop them from Nathaniel Ellicott Footbridge into the water. From there, it was about an hour's journey to the finish line near the piers by Mamie Davis Park.
First place winner -- not the duck, but the lucky person whose $5 ticket corresponded to the number the duck wore -- won $500.
The field of competition was steep, however; Vitter said roughly $2,700 worth of tickets had been sold, and math tells that's about 540 ducks. By weight, she said, they came in around 300 pounds.
"It was really heavy loading them in the tarp," she said.
Proceeds benefit the Trails and Streams Coalition -- and if any organization needs the money, they do. Operations, which included blazing trails to the tune of eight miles last year in the county, are purely volun-teer.
"No, nobody gets paid," Vitter said, explaining the group emerged in 2008 as a 501(c)3 and has since advocated for a "county wide system of trails."
Those interested in volunteering with Trails and Streams may visit the group's website at www.pwtsc.org and access the contact list.
Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-530-3903.
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