You can ceritya lucahbreathe again, everyone: Daphne the duck is safe!
A beloved member of the Cockburn Masters Swimming Club in Australia, the giant rubber duck was supposed to be the star of an annual ocean swimming competition, but strong winds pulled her from her post and into the Indian Ocean. She was last seen at Coogee Beach in Perth on Mar. 11, just before the swimming competition took place.
SEE ALSO: Investigation reveals that Australians didn't vote for Ferry McFerryfaceThe swimming event's organizers asked for leads on Daphne's disappearance via Facebook, offering swim passes and souvenirs for her safe return.
To everyone's relief, the runaway duck was reported safe on Sunday. While there'd been rumors of Daphne sightings from hundreds of miles away, Tony Gibb found her during a fishing trip near Rottnest Island, a nature preserve just off Perth's shore. According to the BBC, Gibb discovered the wayward mascot only an hour after she went missing. He tied Daphne, who's about the size of a small car, to his tiny motorboat and towed her along for a day of fishing. He deflated the duck when he got to shore and kept her at his home for the past week.
Gibb is to meet with Cockburn Swimming Club officials on Wednesday to return Daphne. Peter Marr, chairman of the club, plans on giving Gibb family passes for next year's competition, branded merchandise, and a bottle of vodka for Daphne's safe return.
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Since it was the 22nd Coogee Jetty to Jetty swimming event — and a 22 in the game bingo is known as "two little ducks" — Daphne the duck was to be the race's main attraction. She would have been used as a turning buoy had she not escaped. The Cockburn Swimming Club gave out more than a thousand (normal-sized) rubber ducks to attendants, but it just wasn't the same without Daphne.
The club plans on including Daphne in next year's festivities, but with better restraints.
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