BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[ducks]](/editions/1998/09/07/ducks_200x126.jpg)
Regatta workers try to get the ducks going in the right direction.
(Yoni Pozner photo)
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Maybe the countdowns should have tipped them off.
Tristaters who gathered Sunday to see which lucky duck would win the fourth annual Rubber Duck Regatta had to count down to the duck dump twice after organizers weren't quite ready to free the fowl from the L&N Bridge.
That slow start sputtered into a slower race, as the 49,250 quackers couldn't make headway down the Ohio River against a 25-mph wind that pushed many back past the start line.
Firefighters blasted the ducks with fire hoses to scoot them toward the finish line near the Serpentine Wall. "Give those ducks a goose!" coached WLW radio's Jim Scott, the regatta's admiral..
But after an hour, the flock was still heading back to the start line. So organizers stopped the race, and technology took over. .
A computer randomly selected three top winners. .
The grand-prize winner was Debbie Boguszewski of Glendale, who won a Toyota Tacoma. H. Thomas Smith of Monfort Heights won second prize -- a Caribbean cruise for two. Ronald Sizemore of Price Hill won third prize -- round-trip plane tickets for two to anywhere in the continental United States..
Rounding up the ducks also proved problematic. Boaters tried to collect the stragglers with fishing nets, but the winds sent hundreds of ducks beyond their reach upstream.
"Some of those ducks are probably in Pittsburgh right now," FreeStore - FoodBank spokeswoman Jean Kowalski said.
Anyone who spots an escaped duck is asked to retrieve it and return it to the FreeStore - FoodBank at 1250 Tennessee Ave., Bond Hill.
The regatta, held during Riverfest, is the agency's largest fund-raiser. With 49,250 ducks adopted at $5 each, the event raised more than $200,000.
FreeStore - FoodBank provides food, clothing, shelter, furniture and jobs to Tristate residents facing emergencies.
![[ducks]](/editions/1998/09/07/ducks_550x346.jpg)