Weather continues to delay balloon launch

Weather, the key factor in setting the start of the Chrysler Transatlantic Challenge, continues to delay the launch of the balloons.

If conditions were ideal, the race could have started a week ago but officials are waiting for the right combination of local and oceanic conditions to launch.

The race will start this weekend at the earliest, race officials said Tuesday. “There’s a stationary trough off the west coast of Europe,” Race Director Alan Noble said. “There’s a possibility that if we go, by the time we got there it would be gone.”

Hurricance Andrew has interested balloon racers, as it has others, but they are not worried about it.

“We’re just learning how severe Hurricane Andrew is,” Don Cameron said Tuesday during a photo session. Cameron, whose company built the five identical balloons and gondolas, is a pilot on the British team and serves as meteorologist during the morning briefings.

“It has no effect on us at all — maybe a little rain later Thursday or Friday,” Cameron said. “But if a storm of that size curved up into the North Atlantic we wouldn’t take off.”

The balloonists have nearly completed work on their craft for the trans-Atlanctic race and they have some time on their hands while waiting for the start.

“We’re pretty well as ready as we’re going to be,” Cameron said. “We’re starting to run out of little things to worry about.”

The crews spent Tuesday morning in a photo session. In between shots, the racers became quick-change artists. They donned a new ballcap or T-shirt or sweatshirt or windshell with the logo of one of the myriad of company’s that donated equipment to the race.

With an eye to showing the balloonists more of the community and having some fun to boot, Monday afternoon the Greater Bangor Chamber of Commerce staged a scavenger hunt.

The hunt took the teams from the chamber’s building on Main Street to Turtle Head Marina in Hampden over to Epsteins of Maine in south Brewer, back across the river to Bangor Landing, then to Cascade Park, the Bangor Mall, Franklin Street Park, West Broadway and back to the chamber.

The winner was the first to return with a soda can, plastic bag, white ribbon, plastic flower, mall gift and a description of Stephen King’s driveway gate.

The Germans finished first, completing the course in 52 minutes and returning with all of the items. Perhaps it is coincidence, but at the helm of the German vehicle was Jochen Mass who has raced Formula 1 cars and won the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.

By most accounts the driving was on the frivolous side of legal. But listening to recounts of the race, everybody enjoyed it.

And it had the added benefit of pitting the crews against one another. After nearly two weeks of cooperation and camraderie it was good to reinforce the competitve nature of the event with a little fun, Cameron said. “They needed it.”