He may have done it again.
Trevor MacLean of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, racing bib No. 76, posted a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 21 seconds in a Kevlar kayak that he and a friend built just last week.
By 2 p.m. on Saturday, no other finishers had beaten his time in the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race.
If he wins the overall race this year, it will be the 19th time. Last year, he posted a time of 2:20:00, his 18th win.
“I was hoping for around 2:10:00, but part way through I had some technical difficulties. My foot board fell out and it slowed things down,” MacLean said after the race. “It made it harder to get to the finish. I couldn’t push hard from Six Mile Falls on.”
The Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race, which covers 16 ½ miles, is a beloved ritual in the Bangor area and a rite of passage for those who actually brave the chilly spring water.
The 58th annual race, held on Saturday, logged 406 watercraft navigated by 760 people. A total of 373 canoes and kayaks actually started the race, according to the Bangor recreation department. It rained much of the time Saturday, but that didn’t deter the hundreds of people watching at Six Mile Falls, Bullseye Bridge, Valley Avenue and the finish line.
MacLean equated his kayak’s problem to not having anything to rest your feet on when sitting in a chair. It was his first race of the season, and he had not had time to work out the kinks on the new boat.
Next year, he will make sure the kayak is 100 percent ready, he said.
“We had some technical problems, but it was a fun day,” he said.
About 200 people lined the bridge and stream embankments to watch the racers negotiate Six Mile Falls. The first few racers used the portage option to avoid the falls, including MacLean, who said he always uses it.
Sandra and Wayne Robinson, of Cushing, were snugged under the bridge, out of the rain, waiting for their son Sam, a junior at the University of Maine majoring in civil engineering, to pass by them. It was Sam’s second year to participate, but the first time his parents had attended the race.
Julie Harrington of Parkman was watching for Orion Fleming, who bought a new boat to try to beat longtime winner MacLean.
Justin Wardwell of Bangor, whose great-grandfather was Frank Soucy of Frank’s Bakery, raced the Kenduskeag for about 20 years with his longtime friend Clayton Cole. He said he stopped racing four or five years ago.
He pointed out it is faster to take advantage of the portage than to navigate the falls. He used to do a lot of competitive racing, he said.
He pointed out various paddlers he knew as they braved the falls, one who has participated in whitewater national competitions.
Rescue workers lined the falls area, ready to grab watercraft and people who didn’t make it upright in their canoes and kayaks. The first canoe to dump at the falls was Bib No. 53 with paddlers Brian Galipeau and Apemesim Bem Galipeau, both of Orono. The second was Bib No. 17 with paddlers Jeremy Markuson of Bangor, Ben Naumann of Ellsworth and Chris Reidy of Orono. Those were followed by several more.
Racers began trickling into the finish line near 12:30 p.m. The first boat to cross was a canoe, bib No. 1, containing Brady Burke of Bangor, J.D. Burke of Bangor, Angus Deighan of Newburgh, Ashton Mabee of Bangor, J.R. Mabee of Bangor and Eric Nevens of Freeport with a time of 2:23:01.
The second canoe in was Bib No. 10 with Morgan Baxter of Gorham, Rick Farnsworth of Portland, Rick Gause of North Yarmouth and Greg Soule of Standish paddling hard. Their time was 2:28:32.
MacLean of Nova Scotia crossed the line third.
The three watercraft were all in different racing classes.
Canoes and kayaks were still crossing the finish line at 3:30 p.m. The unofficial top three finishers were: first, Trevor MacLean, Bib 76, with a time of 2:16:21; second, Ashton Mabee, J.R. Mabee, Eric Nevens, Brady Burke and J.D. Burke, Bib 01, with a time of 2:23:01; and third, Orion Fleming, Bib 82, with a time of 2:26:13.
