CAMDEN — If you blinked, you missed it. West Bay Rotary’s annual Duck Derby had its fastest race in the fundraiser’s history on May 28, with the majority of the 3,500 rubber ducks floating downstream in just 30 seconds, from the top of the waterfall down to the docks in the harbor.

In the past few years, the race course and the ritual “dumping of the ducks,” has toggled between two locations—the rail of the foot bridge by River Ducks Ice Cream and in the river shallows behind The Smiling Cow and Camden Deli. All week, volunteers had set up nearly 300 floating “noodles” as barriers to guide the ducks to the finish line behind the Smiling Cow. What they didn’t expect is that nearly three inches of rain in the preceding days would alter the course.

“Last year, we didn’t have enough water and decided to shorten the course,” said West Bay Rotary President Peter Berke. “So, we set up our route on Thursday and then, we got all of that rain, which raised the current of the waterfalls and knocked the noodle barrier over the falls. Then we had to improvise. So, we had a new course, straight over the falls this year,” he added, smiling.

After a morning of overcast clouds, the sun came out just in time at 2 p.m. for blue, yellow and pink ducks to plunge into Harbor Falls, where Megunticook River meets the head of the harbor. In no time, they were ducking and weaving, jockeying for position as hundreds of people lined both sides of the harbor to watch them come down. See Terry Boivin’s drone footage to watch it happen.

According to Rotarian Sandy Cox, all but a few ducks were captured by other Rotarians and volunteers out on the water to scoop them back up.

“We had a few escape, and they were last seen headed for Curtis Island,” said Cox.

Unlike in years past where the ducks staged a mutiny and refused to follow the course they were assigned, this year, they must have gotten the memo. They shot out like grease through a goose, with the lead duck belonging to Rotarian Marty Martens, scooped up as the grand prize winner, for seven nights at Vanderbilt Beach Resort in Naples, FL with $1,000 spending cash.

The other winners were:
Logan Young: Rustic Camp Experience
Michael Camier: Strand of Pearls
Cathy Murphy: Four Golf Passes -
Downeast Toyota:  Four Golf Passes
Everdeen McLaughlin: Mike Bowditch Books
Steve Crane: Auto Detail 
Ray Fink: Loyal Biscuit Package
Heather Mackey: One Hour Massage
Betsy Saltonstall: MaineSport Gift Certificate 
Jacqueline Biddle: Maine Street Meats Gift Certificate

The sale of each ticket benefits a number of charities West Bay Rotary supports such as food pantries and The Hospitality House. Every year, the sale of raffle ticket (one for each rubber duck) has increased. Up from 2,500 ducks in 2015, this year, West Bay Rotary sold nearly 2,900 tickets. For more pictures and updates, visit the West Bay Rotary’s Facebook page.

All photos by Kay Stephens

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com