In the best of all migratory traditions, the DUKWs have returned to River North for the summer. They’re nesting at the “quack shack” alongside the Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonald’s.
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I stepped onto my first duck about seven years ago in the Dells. It was heaven. The guides were goofy, the gasoline fragrant, the splashes cooling. Now you can get a 90-minute duck trip that mixes humor, history, and architecture in downtown Chicago. “We thought it would play well in an urban setting,” says Rob Pierson, CEO of the Chicago Trolley Company and Chicago Duck Tours. His hunch seems to be paying off. Tours started May 22 and Pierson says they already are sold out on weekends. The company has five ducks and 17 employees who give 18 tours a day. By August, Pierson expects two more ducks and seven more employees.
“Everything in them is exactly how they were built–including the engine. We don’t go very fast, but we get there,” remarked guide Ross Avery, adding that the ducks get only six miles to the gallon and require premium gas. “The top on this vehicle is 43 miles per hour with a stiff wind on our backs going downhill.” The speed in the water is a mere six knots, but ducks can handle six-foot swells like a dream. There aren’t many six-foot swells in Burnham Harbor.
“There’s kind of this underground duck network” that’s “very secretive,” says Pierson. “You can find out where ducks are and everybody scrambles after the ducks.” Partly that relates to supply. There are about 4,000 DUKWs worldwide but only about 2,000 are usable. The going rate, according to Pierson, is between $125,000 and $175,000 each.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo by Nathan Mandell.
