Chamber of Commerce hosts 'Duck Race' in Chase Creek

No, there won’t be real live ducks waddling around the streets of Shelter Island when the Chamber of Commerce holds its first-ever “duck race” later this month. But there will be little rubber duckies floating up Chase Creek, dropped into the water and drifting with the tide to the finish line.

The sponsor whose duck gets to the finish line in Chase Creek first — after about a 15-minute drift with the tide — will be awarded 10 percent of the event’s proceeds. Second- and third-place winners will receive 5 and 2.5 percent, respectively.

The Chamber fundraiser, in which contestants will sponsor a rubber duck for $20, will start at 2 p.m. at First Bridge today, though contestants must arrive by 1:30 p.m.

The Chamber hopes to sell 500 duckies and raise $10,000. The funds will help to defray the cost of the 2013 fireworks and support the Chamber of Commerce’s mission of helping local businesses by encouraging people to “shop the rock.”

Heather Reylek, a director of the Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Duck Race Committee, first pitched the idea to the Chamber membership in 2011.

She believed that people were “stuck in a rut,” she said in an interview last week, with the same events occurring year after year. She said she wanted to start a new tradition on Shelter Island. The Chamber postponed the event last summer until 2012 to allow for more preparation. This year the organizers “have all their ducks in a row,” Ms. Reylek said, adding that she anticipated a fun event for people of all ages.

Having investigated duck races that have been held in other communities, Ms. Reylek said she’d worked hard to make sure that the Shelter Island Duck Race will be the best of them all. Chase Creek was selected as the best location because it is a small body of water in which the race can be easily controlled. By throwing sticks off of the bridge — which is where the race will start — Ms. Reylek found that the flow of the falling tide was predictable.

She also said she believed that the western wall of the creek and Volunteer Park will be perfect locations for participants to watch the race. “As long as the wind isn’t blowing out of the north,” Ms. Reylek says, “the race should take about 15 minutes.”

The event will take place, come rain or shine, as ducks don’t mind the rain.