The 61′ high 11 ton inflatable Giant Rubber Deck, featured in the Philadelphia-Camden Tall Ships Festival 2015, had some problems in the “Parade of Ships” on Thursday.  The duck was being towed on a pontoon, which was found to have holes and was sinking, causing the duck to become unstable.  Initial reports said that the duck was undamaged but later accounts suggest that the duck was damaged and leaking and has been taken ashore repairs.  With luck, festival-goers will be so involved with incredible fleet of tall ships tied up along the banks of the Delaware River that they will not notice the absence. Thanks to Robert Rustchak of the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild and the tall ship Gazela, for passing along his sister-in-law’s photo of the droppy duck.

The Philly giant inflatable duck been the subject of some controversy. The Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman who created sculpture named “Spreading Joy Around the World” but universally known simply as “Rubber Duck,” is charging that the Philly duck is an “unauthorized rubber duck project.”   Various incarnations of the rubber duck have appeared at over 20 locations around the globe.