WALDO, Maine — When you’re getting ready to paddle down a Maine river the next morning, one of the last things you might want to have happen just before you go to bed is for Mother Nature to dump another three inches of snow on the race course.
But as they say in these parts, if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute … it’ll change.
It did, with paddlers hitting heading downstream in the 45th annual Passagassawakeag River Race under sunny skies and occasional gusts of wind.
For Priscilla Reinertsen of Contoocook, N.H., visiting Waldo in April has become a tradition. So, too, has racing hard, and finishing high in the standings.
On Saturday, the 75-year-old Reinertsen teamed up with longtime partner Al Paradise to finish 13th overall in their racing canoe.
“There could have a bit more water in a couple of places. We touched [rocks] in a couple of places,” the cheerful Reinertsen said. “But we didn’t flip over. That’s always the objective. Upright the whole way. It was fun.”
Paradise, 65, has been racing for about 40 years, including the last 27 with Reinertsen. That doesn’t mean a given course can’t provide a few unexpected moments.
“There were a few surprises out there,” Paradise said. “Logs across where we didn’t expect them and only one way to get through.”
So how long does Reinertsen expect to keep paddling with Paradise? You might be surprised.
“I don’t know. Fifty?” she said with a smile. “We’ll see.”
Paradise wasn’t willing to speculate, either.
“One year at a time,” he said.
Ben Randall of Sabattus posted the fastest time in his racing kayak, covering the course in 40 minutes, 49 seconds. The course is widely believed to be seven miles long, but longtime paddler Clayton Cole said on Saturday that his GPS measured the course at just 5.3 miles. Whatever the length, Randall had a great time on the water.
“I come and run this [river] once a year, so it’s being run blind,” Randall said. “I had one limb hit me and I hit two rocks. So that’s a pretty good day, considering I hadn’t scouted it.
Kayakers took the first four spots, with Ray Wirth taking second in 42:23, Hank Thorburn third in 44:40, and Mark Berry fifth in 45:50. Jeff Owen and his father, Bucky Owen, paddled their canoe to fifth overall in 45:56.
In another interesting result, Orono High School senior Kellen Doyle topped top veteran paddler Rod McLain — a former Olympian — to win the one-man open racing canoe class and finish sixth overall. Doyle posted a time of 46:10, while McLain finished just 24 seconds behind, taking seventh overall. The race was essentially a time trial, as McLain’s starting position put him on the course 11 minutes before Doyle headed out.
Many spots along the riverbanks were bare of snow, while an inch or two remained in other spots. Temperatures peaked around 40 degrees, but for those who found sunny spots out of the wind to watch the competition, it felt much warmer.
“[The water level] was average. It was OK,” longtime race director Dale Cross said after he finished, but while other paddlers were still on the course. “We still could have some casualties, but I think that it’s at a good level for everyone, the beginners and those with more experience. You could definitely get down through without hitting any rocks.”
In all, 88 boats started the race and 87 finished. A total of 140 participants entered.
Among those competitors who show up every year: Terry Wescott of Thorndike and Chip Loring of Indian Island.
They team up at times, and compete against each other during other races. On Saturday, they shared a boat and got to work.
“[We’re] old geezers,” Wescott said, proudly. “He’s 70, and I’m in my 70th year, but I haven’t had my birthday yet. We had these young [paddlers Aaron Cross and Jason Cross] to chase down the river, and then Priscilla and Al passed us and we had them to chase along.”
The competition led to a fast time (50:34), 16th overall, and first in their two-man recreational canoe class. Reinertsen and Paradise clocked a 48:54 and the Cross cousins finished in 49:57. Aaron Cross is race director Dale Cross’s son, while Jason is the race director’s nephew.
“As Chip said, ‘If they hadn’t been ahead of us, we wouldn’t have paddled that hard,’” Wescott said.
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