Helen to the Atlantic
Helen to the Atlantic
The South's oldest balloon event and the United States' only long distance hot air balloon race began at 7:00 am, Thursday, June 5th . The wind direction was not the most favorable, but it would get you moving in a direction that was closer to the finish line. After one long hard day of flying, the competitors called it quits, as they were flying farther into inhospitable terrain. The balloons left out heading off to the Northeast. This direction does not clear the mountains and the forests. There are some nice landing areas in this direction, but there are a lot of trees and few roads.
After 12 grueling hours in the air the two balloons who were out ahead of everyone else found an opening in the trees and landed. They returned to Helen that evening. The forcast for the final day of flying had an even more unfavorable wind direction. On Friday morning, both of the lead balloons elected not to attempt any more of the race to the coast, as the winds would possibly take them farther away from the finish line.
At dark on Friday the race came to an official end. The race officials
determined that the two lead balloons were so close to the same distance
from the finish line that a tie had to be called. The two balloon
had each taken slightly different tracks and had landed some 45 miles apart
after 12 hours of flying. Using GPS coordinates it was determined
that they were withing 0.5 km of each other in their distance from the
finish line of I-95. Therefore, a tie was declared with the
two winners being:
Steve Stokoe - Tampa, FL and
Daryl Tatum - Cumming, GA
This was Steve's third win and Daryl's first.
]
Steve Stokoe looking for a landing site.
For more information on the event contact Race Headquarters at 706-878-2271
or email us at info@helenballoon.com
| Click here to see photos of some of this year's participants. | |
| **2005 Race Results and Photos - click here** | |
| ** 2004 Race Results and Photos - click here ** | |
| ** 2003 Race Results and Photos - click here** | |
| **2002 Race Results and Photos - click here** | |
 |
Race Headquarters, sponsor and organizer of the Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race and Festival 706-878-2271 |
 |
Local Manufacturer of FAA Approved Hot Air Balloons |
 |
Co-Sponsor of the Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race. For
more information send email to: wldbnchint@aol.com
|
 |
Official home page of Alpine Helen, Georgia |
 |
Official tubing company of the Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race & Festival |
 |
Official beer of the Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race & Festival.
Northeast Sales Distributing - Athens, Georgia |
| The Helen
Story |
the history of Helen's transformation - The
Helen Story
and images of the past |
|
|
Click here to see Helen's 1st balloon ascension |
|
|
Local "CANDY MAN" and balloon enthusiast David Jones new book. Click here to buy one, or better yet stop by Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen while you are in Helen and pick up a signed copy along with your fudge. |
| VISIT NORTHEAST GEORGIA . com | www.visitnortheastgeorgia.com has a lot of information about the Northeast Georgia Mountains |
| www.n-georgia.com | www.n-georgia.com is another great resource for information on Northeast Georgia |
| roadsidegeorgia.com | Great website! A good history of Helen and has much information on all of Northeast Georgia. |
Hot air balloons inflated
ready for lift off.
For more information on the event contact Race Headquarters at
706-878-2271 or email us at info@helenballoon.com
copyright 2007 - HABR