Rough, Early Finishes Mar Balloon Race; 3 Still Aloft

One giant helium balloon shredded in a rough desert landing Monday and three others touched down early, leaving the Gordon Bennett distance race to three balloons drifting over the Gulf of California.

The Benihana balloon, piloted by restaurateur Rocky Aoki, made a bumpy landing in 15-m.p.h. winds near the border town of Mexicali about noon, said race chairman Randy Westrick.

“They landed in very treacherous conditions,” Westrick said. “They tore their balloon, but everyone’s OK.”

The winner is the balloon that lands farthest from the start in Palm Springs. There is no time limit; the balloonists land either when they run out of helium and ballast or when they decide to touch down for safety or to avoid being pushed back by adverse winds.

Still Close to Home

Three of the other entrants--Destiny, Moonshadow and Cherokee, last year’s co-winner--had landed by noon Monday, less than 12 hours and 150 miles from launch here.

The three teams remaining in the open-ended contest drifted over the Gulf of California at altitudes of 10,000 feet and more, seeking strong winds to carry them east toward Arizona or Texas.

Wandering Star, piloted by Fred Hyde and M. Neal, was over the gulf near Punta Penasco, 247 miles from the start, at the last report.

Rosie O’Grady, piloted by three-time champ Joe Kittinger and co-pilot Sherry Reed, was somewhere over the gulf at mid-afternoon, with a ground crew waiting in Tucson.

Windsong’s crew, Don Davis and Gordon Boring, reversed an earlier decision to land near Ensenada, and struck out across the gulf, Westrick said.

The race is named after the New York Herald publisher who founded it in 1906.