Looking at the flooding in Helen and White County Thursday night, many people said the 45th-annual Helen to the Atlantic Hot Air Balloon Race wouldn’t happen.
Not only did it happen Friday, but it was the most successful race in many years.
The race begins in Helen and the finish line is Interstate 95, anywhere between Maine and Miami. The shortest distance is 225 miles and the race usually takes two days, organizers say.
This year’s coast racers lifted off at 7 a.m. Friday, 24 hours after the original launch time.
Daryl Tatum of Cumming won the race in record time, finishing in seven hours and 45 minutes when he crossed I-95 near Holly Hill, S.C.
Jonathan Wright of Albuquerque, N.M./Las Vegas, Nev., came in a close second, landing just short of I-95 to refuel when Tatum crossed the finish line.
Ballooning activities this year had to be moved back across the river from the usual festival site at Wilkins Field to locations off Edelweiss Strasse because of the week’s flooding.
While Alto didn’t have flooding this week like Helen and White County, the town in southern Habersham County had its share of rain.
But that didn’t stop the largest crowd in the Alto Spring Fling and Parade’s 15-year history from coming out for a day of fun.
