Whitewater paddlers will head to Searsmont this morning for the first local race of a busy canoe and kayak season.

The St. George River Race is back after a one-year hiatus caused by historic low water conditions in 2006. This will be the 28th “annual” edition of the race, which has actually been staged for 29 years.

“We’re real excited,” race director Dale Cross said on Friday. “The water has stayed up quite well. It’s going to be very challenging.”

Last year’s dry weather forced the cancellation of the racing schedule’s first two events – the St. George River Race and the Passagassawaukeag Stream Race – but paddlers won’t find dry conditions this time around.

“People may think we didn’t get any rain this week and it’s going to be low, but it isn’t,” Cross said. “it’s just on the underside of roaring. You’ll get some water splashed in your face.”

Registration for the St. George River Race begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 10:30 a.m. The race starts at 11 at the highway bridge on Route 131 in Searsmont. The finish is at the Route 105 bridge in Appleton.

Cross said the race provides a nice start to the canoe- and kayak-racing season.

“One of the great things for this race is that it does not have any portages, so you stay in the boat,” Cross said. “The kayakers and many of the canoeists like that.

The six-mile course will be completed in 45 to 60 minutes by most paddlers, and provides plenty of challenges.

“It’s got 21/2 miles of flat water, plenty of deep water to paddle in so people can get their sea legs, then you go through a mile, a mile and a half of really good whitewater,” Cross said. “Then there’s one Class 3 ledge drop that really adds to the race, and the finish is basically in a deep flat water stretch.”

Cross said nearly 50 boats had registered as of Friday morning, and he was hoping for more than 100 boats.

And though he’s no meteorologist, he is an optimist.

“It looks like it’ll be sunny and 70,” Cross said. “OK. Not quite. But keep thinking that way.”

Bowhunter safety course set

Prospective bowhunters can fulfill their state-mandated safety training at an upcoming course that will be held at Bucksmills Rod & Gun Club in Bucksport.

The course will run from 6-9 p.m. on April 6 and from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on April 7.

For more information, call Troy Frye at 469-8905 or John Ladd at 469-2936.