“10, 9, 8, 7 ...” counted down a group of kids at the Tihonet Pond Canal waterfall.

There was no indication that the race was about to begin, but that didn’t stop them from hoping it would.

After five or six more anticlimatic countdowns, their wishes came true. A flood of bright yellow rubber ducks came flying out of the canal, beginning a chaotic minute-long race which ended at the entrance of A.D. Makepeace headquarters.

The annual rubber duck race, which supports the Friends of the Wareham Free Library, brought out about 60 people and hundreds of ducks, many of them hand-decorated, on Sunday, May 21. The Friends of the Wareham Free Library have hosted the event since 2015.

“There was a woman who brought her duck from the first year [we] did this... from 2015,” said Priscilla Porter, president of the Friends of the Wareham Free Library. “I just think it’s a great day. What could be better than a duck race?”

Participants selected their ducks by hand for the race, a decision that 14-year-old twins Victor and Travis Murphy did not take lightly. They scoured the bucket of ducks for a “cooler number.” A sleek number like 25, for instance, is much better than a stuffy old number like 57. 

Seven-year-old Abigail Chuckran won a hard-fought victory, followed closely by 3-year-old Logan Roache. Both took home gift cards to Kool Kone. 

Wareham Community Television’s camera-strapped duck technically finished before anyone, but was not part of the competition.