Canoe racing signals spring> Local kayak trio without Ludwig

Call it a rite of spring. A placebo for the winter-tortured mind. For many, Saturday’s St. George River Race will mark the end of winter and the true beginning of spring. Something the calendar points out is here although Mother Nature sometimes has to remind everyone who is really in charge.

“I think it’s the sign of a spring,” race director and competitor Dale Cross said. “About this time you get a little case of cabin fever. You’re ready for [winter] to end.”

But it’s more. It’s the competition for sure and just as the high school basketball tourney draws friends from across eastern Maine together for a yearly get together, the white water has its own group of followers.

Beginning with the St. George River race on Saturday the canoe and kayak river racing schedule features 31 races including the Passagassawakeg Stream Race on April 1 and the highly popular Kenduskeag Stream Race on April 15.

Cross says the St. George River Race will attract approximately 140 people and 100 boats.

“We’ll get about the same for the Passy,” Cross said. “I think its popular because of the challenge of the white water. It’s also a chance to see some of the people they compete against every year, friends throughout the circuit.”

One of the competitors who says he is ready to get the racing season started is Jeff Sands. Sands has been one of the top competitors in the kayak division over the years.

“I’m into skiing but about the first of March I start getting antsy to be on the river. That first snow melt gets you going,” Sands said.

Sands, of Kenduskeag, is a member of a triumverate that has dominated the local kayak racing scene. Along with Ken Cushman of Hampden and Houlton’s Fred Ludwig, the threesome has competed against each for the top spot at the weekly events for years.

“I’ve been doing this for seven years. Kenny [Cushman] is definitely the guy to beat. I haven’t spoken to him lately but I’m sure he’s getting ready. We are friends, if not best friends we’re pretty close to it. But Kenny keeps some things under his hat, so I don’t know how much work he’s been doing,” Sands said.

Ludwig, however, will be watching from the sidelines as this racing season begins having undergone back surgery for a ruptured disc in February.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years competitively,” Ludwig said. “I pretty much train year round and maybe it was time to take a break. So, maybe this was a good thing. It forced me to. I really always looked forward to that first race though.”

As are others. Cross, for example, competes in the junior-senior division with his 14-year old son Aaron. It will be the Morrill-pair’s sixth year racing in a canoe together.

“We have a good time together but we like the competition too. There are some good teams in the junior-senior class. Mike Murphy and Justin Reynolds are from the Belfast-area. They were probably the best junior-senior paddlers anywhere. They probably could have won the nationals. They’ll be the team to watch,” Cross said.

Cross said the St. George water level is running high. The Class II and III rapids along the six-mile course are enough to ensure that paddlers must pay attention to what they are doing.

“Every now and then the river will win,” Cross said. “If you make it through with your boat and a little wet, well, you can feel like you did OK. But when you lose your boat …”

The St. George River Race begins in Searsmont village. Registration runs from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and the race begins at 11. There is a $10 registration fee.