Ducks ready to race for Lihou funds
DOZENS of ducks will be racing down a track this weekend at the annual Lihou duck race.
The event is taking place tomorrow on the island between noon and 3pm. The first race is expected at 12.30pm.
Lihou Charitable Trust warden Steve Sarre said the event had been planned for this weekend. But due to lockdown not being relaxed until this week, it had not given him long to plan and promote the event.
‘I’m going over today to make the course,’ he said.
‘There is scaffolding that will go up and then I’ll put down polythene for the track. It’s a bit like the Grand National.’
There are 150 ducks and several heats will be held. The winners from each heat will go through to a final race. The overall winner will get 20% of the day’s profits.
Each duck costs £5 to sponsor and will be purchased on the day. There will be a card machine for people to use to sponsor the ducks, however it is preferred that people pay cash.
The rest of the money which does not go to the winner will go towards supporting Lihou.
Currently the house needs some work. The warden room and one of the bunk rooms flooded over the winter due to the amount of water that fell on the meadow behind the house. That means the rooms need to be retanked. While insurance will cover some of the work, some fundraising is also needed.
‘It is a shame to lose a bunk room, but we are working around it,’ Mr Sarre said.
He hoped the repair work would take place over the summer. Meanwhile school bookings for the house have been coming in thick and fast, now lockdown has relaxed.
. The causeway is open from 11.46am to 3.26pm tomorrow. The weather is set to be dry.
