Oban duck race gets quacking once again
The annual duck race resurrected by the Rotary Club of Oban in 2017 is to go ahead this year on August 7 after missing out in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The race takes place along the Black Lynn burn from the Combie Street bridge to Oban Bay via the tunnel adjacent to the CalMac pier.
It involves 500 plastic ducks in red, green, blue and yellow, and numbered one to 125 in each colour.
The collecting of the ducks by skilled kayakers is a spectacle of its own.
The ducks are sold three times at £2 a duck which means there could be three firsts, three seconds and three thirds.
First, second and third ducks win £50, £25 and £15 respectively.
This year the Rotary Club is introducing 50 ‘elite, or super ducks’ in addition to the 500.
The aim is to have them sponsored by businesses at a cost of £50 a duck with a ‘winner take all’ prize of £250 for the winning ‘super duck’.
The £250 will be donated to a town good cause nominated by the business and featured in The Oban Times.
Rotary officials say the race is a prominent event in Oban’s summer calendar and in anticipation of Covid restrictions continuing to be eased, this year’s event could be the best attended so far, given that it attracts locals and visitors alike.
Red, green, blue and yellow ducks can be purchased in various retail outlets in the town and in addition at Gibralter Street corner at Tesco on July 30-31, and on August 6-7, the latter up to 3pm.
All net proceeds from the race are for the benefit of good causes.