Sold-out Duck Race entertains
Under sunny skies and cool breezes, the Great Calusa Duck races took place Saturday afternoon in the Monroe Canal.
“I’m thrilled with the turnout,” Calusa Land Trust President John Kendall said. “We had even more people here before we had a few minutes of severe weather. I don’t know what it was, perhaps a ‘dirt devil.’ But two people were injured and the EMTs took them to the hospital.”
Despite the brief weather incident, the event was a success.
“The Great Calusa Duck Race is now 18 years old,” Kendall said. “It was in March of 1998 that 1,000 rubber ducks assembled for the first time at the Double Nichol Pub as hundreds cheered them on.”
The Calusa Land Trust, the beneficiary of the annual event, held two duck races at Woody’s on Saturday.
The “Lucky Duck Race” started at 3:30. It consisted of 100 ducks and the winner was Judy Lindhorst ($1,000).
The Great Calusa Duck Race began at 4 p.m. The winners were: Ray Costrey (grand prize of $1,000), Melody Nichols (2nd place worth $500), Russ Heim (3rd place of $250) and five runners-up each receiving a gift bag of goodies worth over $200: David Dorsch, Jodi Wczyucki, Ben and Sandy Madey, Del Mergen and Steve Smith.
The purpose of the Calusa Land Trust is to protect the natural diversity and beauty of the Pine Island region by acquiring, managing and preserving in perpetuity environmentally sensitive or historically important land and to foster appreciation for and understanding of the environment and our past.
“This was a very successful day for the Calusa Land Trust,” Kendall said. “We raised just over $27,000. And I am happy to announce that the two individuals injured by the ‘dirt devil’ returned home last night without any serious injuries.”