It had been two long years since paddlers competed on the St. George River.
On Saturday morning, nearly 150 paddlers in 90 boats were back on the water for the 41st running of the St. George River Race from Searsmont to Appleton.
A high water level made for outstanding racing conditions and veteran kayaker Ben Randall took advantage. The Sabattus racer claimed the overall victory in the race, negotiating the six-mile course in 40 minutes, 47 seconds.
Randall successfully defended his race title as he had won the last St. George Race in 2019. The event was canceled each of the last two years because of COVID-19 concerns.
Kayaker Hank Thorburn of Harpswell was the runner-up in Saturday’s race with a time of 43:12, while tandem canoeists Mark Ranco of Bangor and Chris Francis of Bangor placed third in 44:08, followed by kayaker Justin Varney of Belfast (44:32).
Up next on the river racing circuit is the 47th Passagassawaukeag River Race scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday in Belfast.
St. George River Race
At Searsmont, 6 miles
Overall winner: Ben Randall (Sabattus) 40 minutes, 47 seconds
Anything Goes: 1 Hastings, Peter (Bar Harbor), Hastings, Henry (Bar Harbor) and Hastings, William (Bar Harbor) 59:58; 2 McKay, Matt (Hampden) and McKay, Colin (Hampden) 1:02:20
Century: 1 Martin, Bob (Holden); and Wescott, Terry (Thorndike) 50:11; 2 Conover, David (Camden) and Day, Magnus 57:55; 3 McKee, Peggy (Bangor) and Rubin, Jonathan (Bangor) 58:3; Bridges, Michael (Appleton) and Conover, Sue (Appleton) 1:00:00; 5 Evans, Bill (Searsmont) and Evans, Betsy (Newcastle) 1:08
Clydesdale: 1 Stearns, David (Blue Hill) and Stearns, Alan (Hallowell) 52:08
High School: 1 Price, Alexander (Portland) and Widmer, Isaac (Montville) 51:14; 2 Eckert, Emma (Orono) Drinkert, Ryder (Orono) 54:15; 3 Richards, Kayden (Belfast) and Graf, Brigham (Searsmont) 59:10
Junior/Senior 12: 1 Perkins, Logan (Swanville) and McGuire, Zozey (Swanville) 1:04:57
Junior/Senior 13: 1 LaBree, Camden (Glenburn) and Owen, Jeff (Orono) 47:50; 2 McIntosh, Gabriel and Galipeau, Damon 52:06; 3 Hartery, Mason (Glenburn) and Galipeau, Ben 52:37; 4 McDonald, Charlotte (Portland) and McDonald, Kelly (Portland) 53:35; 5 Lancaster, Hayden (Greenbush) and Drinkert, Daisy (Orono) 54:19; 6 Dietter, John (Rockport) and Dietter, Zeke (Rockport) 56:21; 7 Pearson, James (Appleton) and Pearson, Odin (Appleton) 56:59; 8 Pratt, Benjamin (Swanville) and McGuire, Jem (Swanville) 57:34; 9 Abello, Peter (Freedom) and Abello, Hazel (Freedom) 58:27; 10 Edge, Tom (Camden) and Edge, Emmett (Camden) 1:09:30
Kayak 1: Randall, Ben (Sabattus) 40:47; 2 Varney, Justin (Belfast) 44:32; 3 Sands, Jeff (Dexter) 46:14; 4 Lightner, John (Belfast) 50:28; 5 Hoyt, Adam (Eliot) 1:05:15; 6 Tofani, John (Searsmont) 1:16:56;
Kayak Short: 1 Thorburn, Hank (Harpswell) 43:12; 2 Bamford, Mark (Bucksport) 46:45; 3 Foley, Brian (Orono) 47:35; 4 Baltes, Jason (Brunswick) 48:36; 5 Montgomery, Glenn (Belfast) 53:12; 6 Merrill, Larry (Orrington) 54:58; 7 Brunelle, Aaron (Winslow) 1:07:04; 8 Irving, Nick (Waterville) 1:07:20; 9 Karolak, Derek (Casco) 1:16:48
Kayak Women: 1 Gregory, Leslie (Monroe) 49:57; 2 Hartikka, Ali (Bath) 57:38
OC1: 1 Gause, Rick (N. Yarmouth) 47:06
OC1 Rec: 1 Feener, Jake (Allagash) 49:52; 2 Dalton, Chris (Bangor) 50:01; 3 Baxter, Morgan (Gorham) 51:18; 4 Corey, Christopher (Topsham) 53:29; 5 Littlefield, Dan (Belfast) 55:52; 6 Thurston, Jon (Searsmont) 57:43; 7 Price, Andrew (Portland) 58:48; 8 Donovan, Kirk (Eddington) 1:01:04; 9 Cotz, Christian (South Bristol) 1:04:21; 10 Timberlake, Mike (Topsham) 1:18:49; 11 Shean, Derik (Brunswick) 1:18:50; 12 Picone, Jonathan (Bangor) 1:21:34
OC1 Women: 1 Thebaud, Ander (Hancock) 56:02; 2 Adams, Jen (Westport Island) 1:02:04
OC2 Men: 1 Ranco, Mark (Bangor) and Francis, Chris (Bangor) 44:08; 2
Smith, Evan (Orono) and Mabee, Ashton (Bangor) 45:07; 3 Glick, Jason (Montville) Howell, Josh 49:01; 4 Richmond, Chris (Camden) Richmond, Carlton (Camden) 56:31
OC2 Mixed: 1 Cole, Clayton (Corinth) and Basilicato, Linda (Corinth) 46:15; 2 Mallory, Ellen (Orono) and Gallandt, Eric (Orono) 46:32; 3 Deighan, Angus (Newburgh) and Deighan, Abby (Newburgh) 47:29; 4 Mabee, Rheannon (Bangor) and Mabee, JR (Bangor) 49:28
OC2 Mixed Rec: 1 Rubin, Hannah (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Rubin, David (Bangor) 47:28; 2 Allan-Rahill, Ella (Orono) and McLain, Rod 47:33; 3
Jolliffe, Emily (Searsmont) and Halsted, Chris (Searsmont) 48:41; 4 Gallandt, Liza (Orono) and Raphael, Ian (Norwich, Vermont) 52:08; 5 Fernald, Joanna (Topsham) Walker, Eli (Newry) 53:00; 6 Peake, Phineas (Penobscot) and Johnson, Hannah (Penobscot) 54:00; 7 Taylor, Eric (Bangor) and Hall, Ellen (Bangor) 55:23; 8 Blunt, Andrew (Portland) and Solis, Jessica (Portland) 1:07:52; 9 Dana, Eve (Old Town) and Deighan, Bill (Newburgh) 1:22:52
OC2RM: 1 Risinger, Mark (Saco) and Redding, Dean (Bangor) 45:23; 2 Jenkins, Sam (Kenduskeag) and Robertson, River 46:02; 3 Burke, Brady (Hampden) and Burke, Jack (Hampden) 48:03; 4 Coombs, Kevin (Belfast) and Wagner, Brian (Lisbon) 48:38; 5 Winslow, Jackson (Belmont) and Winslow, Aaron (Belmont) 49:28; 6 Megquier, Aaron (Belmont) and Powers, Matt (Orono) 50:13; 7 Walls, Brian (Bar Harbor) and Williams, Bud (Trenton) 53:36; 8 Sawyer, Adam (Trenton) and Hanscome, Robert (Trenton) 59:05; 9 Graf, Lee (Searsmont) and Graf, Lincoln (Searsmont) 1:01:31
OC2RS: 1 Shute, Greg (Alna) and Ziminsky, Kate (Pownal) 48:46; 2 McGowan, Joe (Searsmont) and Bragg, True (Searsmont) 52:28; 3 Bragg, Ivan and Stager, Jason (Lincolnville) 1:00:59; 4 Albee, Bryan (Machiasport) and Lawson, Justin (Marshfield) 1:10:16
OC2WW: 1 Lynn, Adam (Falmouth) and Schneider, Tim (Falmouth) 54:33; 2 Vogel, Zak (Blue Hill) and Vogel, River Plough (Blue Hill) 56:25; 3 McGuire, Matt (Swanville) and Ravis, Lisa (Swanville) 59:24; 4 Saltonstall, Davis (Rockland) and Carter, Hodding (Camden) 1:02:20; 5 Porter, Matthew (Northport) and Moscoso (Swanville) 1:07:04; 6 Walker, Kyle (Brewer) and Shioeffler, Michaela (Topsham) 1:26:18