BANGOR – Two canoeists were rescued from the rushing, icy current of the Kenduskeag Stream on Wednesday night by state game wardens using a hovercraft after rescue efforts on the ground and in the air were delayed.

The two canoeists, identified as Patrick and Daniel Davis, apparently cousins, spent five hours standing knee- to waist-deep along some rocks, buffeted by the fast-moving water at Six Mile Falls, a notorious area for dumping paddlers.

At times they shouted that they were OK, that wet suits were keeping them warm, with the exception of their fingers and toes.

“We are fine, but how are we going to get our boat across?” one shouted shortly after 9 p.m.

But officials worried that the more time they spent in the water the likelier they would suffer harm.

“It was getting down to a very serious situation,” Maine Game Warden David Georgia said. “It was starting to get very grave.”

With plans scuttled to bring a ladder truck closer to the stream and extend its ladder to get rescuers closer, organizers pinned their hopes on a helicopter from the Army National Guard’s 112th Medical Unit or a Maine Warden Service hovercraft arriving.

The hovercraft got there first and was quickly put to work and severely tested on its maiden rescue.

Officials strung ropes across the frothing water downstream near the bridge as a safety net in case the paddlers were swept away.

“We had a lot of contingency plans, but the last thing we wanted to do is put people in the water,” Assistant Bangor Fire Chief Rick Cheverie said.

“Scary” is how Warden Ron Dunham described his efforts to steer the hovercraft through the choppy waters, weaving in and out of the harshest parts of the stream and surging through others by sheer power. Dunham had to dodge rocks and ledge outcroppings.

And there were other things to worry about.

Debris, including ice and tree limbs, were carried down the stream which was flowing as fast as 15 to 20 mph, Cheverie estimated.

As the hovercraft approached the two men, Dunham said he signaled for both to jump in, realizing, he said later, that he probably wouldn’t get another chance up the stream. After both jumped in, a small crowd of people who had gathered along the stream’s edge applauded.

The rescue was only half done, however.

Dunham turned about and headed ashore. But the return trip, despite going with the flow of the stream, was equally dangerous, if not more so.

“I’m not sure which was worse, the trip up or the trip down,” Dunham said after the rescue. He had to contend with a ledge and the water swirling around it below the island of rocks where the canoeists had been moments earlier.

The hovercraft plunged deep into the water, and Dunham said he saw large waves of water coming at him. Water sprayed everywhere, but the hovercraft, floating on a cushion of air, continued forward.

Once ashore, both men were treated in ambulances – apparently for hypothermia – before being taken to St. Joseph Hospital for further assessment.

Authorities were first alerted to the stranded paddlers about 7:30 p.m. after Charlie Cox, a passing bicyclist, heard cries for help coming from the stream. One of the canoeists shouted to rescuers on the shore that they had been there since 5:30 p.m.

Scanning the water near the bridge, Cox, 43, of Bangor couldn’t see where the calls were coming from so he rode farther down past the trees that line the stream.

“Help, help us,” the shouts continued, Cox said.

Spotting them and their canoe along some rocks, Cox said he signaled that he was going for help. He ran to the nearby home of John and Lee Birmingham and found John. Lee and their son Jacob were just arriving home.

The Birminghams called emergency 911 and went to the stream with a flashlight, as it was becoming darker.

Cheverie said the Fire Department was called at 7:51 p.m. and arrived within five to six minutes. The number of firefighters grew as officials weighed their options.

The department’s Technical Rescue Team, which is trained for difficult extrications, suited up as did members of the Penobscot County dive team. One dive team member tried to cross the stream near the bridge where conditions weren’t as severe, but Cheverie said the waist-deep water threatened to carry him away.