Water level OK for Kenduskeag

Avid canoe-racers, weekend adventurers, and once-a-year thrill-seekers will converge on Kenduskeag Village on Saturday for the 37th edition of the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race.

Race director Tracy Willette, the city of Bangor’s superintendent of recreation, said a Thursday survey of the stream was encouraging.

“We just took a trip upstream and [the water level] seems to have risen a little bit from yesterday,” Willette said. “It’s at a level where we should be in good shape for Saturday. It won’t be at the highest, but it won’t be at the lowest, either.”

When it’s at its wildest, the Kenduskeag provides “river vultures” – those fans who flock to Six Mile Falls – plenty of opportunity to see spills.

While the stream may not be a raging torrent this year, Willette said the stream of entry forms is steady, and similar to past years.

“I think we’ll be around our typical level,” he said. “As of [Wednesday], we had around 400 [boats entered].”

Willette said paddlers have until 1 p.m. today to enter the race at the lower “pre-registered” price of $17 per racer. After that – and from 6:30-8 a.m. on Saturday, each paddler will pay $27.

A race-day briefing for racers begins at 8 a.m. and the race starts at 8:30. A breakfast will be served at the Mystic Tie Grange from 5-9 a.m.

Willette said spectators hoping to see boats go through Six Mile Falls will likely see the first action around 10, as the racing kayaks pick their way through the drops.

“The rest of them will be there anywhere from 10:30 to noontime or after,” he said.

Last year, 493 boats carrying 903 paddlers completed the 161/2-mile journey from Kenduskeag Village to downtown Bangor.

Marathon kayak specialist Trevor MacLean of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, was the overall winner, clocking a time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, 42 seconds.

The race record for participation dates back to 1994, when 754 boats carrying 1,529 paddlers completed the course.

Another 15 percent of the field – 76 boats – failed to complete the course.

The paddlers who competed in 2002 hailed from 10 states, two Canadian provinces, and 199 towns and cities in Maine.

Spectators may want to be aware of a couple of traffic advisories that have been issued by the Bangor Police Department. Back in 1967 – the first year of the race – 32 boats and 51 paddlers competed. More than 400 boats have completed the course each year for the past 14 years.

Over the race’s 36 years, an average of 344 boats and 669 paddlers have finished.

First, traffic should be a bit more free-flowing along Interstate 95 on Saturday as construction on the bridge over Kenduskeag Stream will be halted for the day.

Still, planning ahead will help prospective river vultures get to their perches. Traffic on Broadway will be one-way on Saturday toward Kenduskeag, and inbound traffic will be detoured to the McCarthy Road or the Finson Road before the bridge at Six Mile Falls, exiting at Griffin Road.

In the city, police are asking motorists to avoid driving on Valley Avenue because there will be no parking between the bridge and 14th Street. North of the bridge, there will be limited parking on one side of the road, away from the stream. From Bruce Road to Kenduskeag Avenue there will be parking on one side of the street.

Another thing to be aware of: Motorists will find pedestrians in places they might not on a normal Saturday, and should drive slowly anywhere near the race route or finish area.