Water level good for Kenduskeag race

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A year ago, Tracy Willette’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing as the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race loomed. Call after call came in. And every caller wanted to know the same thing.

This year, Willette’s phone isn’t ringing. And the race director can live with that.

“I’m just happy not to have to answer the ‘Why are you canceling the race?’ calls this year,” Bangor’s director of parks and recreation said on Thursday.

A year ago, high water, combined with an unfounded rumor, prompted many paddlers to call Willette. On Thursday, two days before the 42nd edition of Bangor’s spring classic is run, there was no such doubt.

The race is on. And everything’s fine.

“I think the stream is at a pretty good level for everybody. Not too low, not too high,” Willette said. “I think it’s going to be a pretty good course for everybody. I think the technical paddlers, the experienced paddlers, will enjoy it, and I think the beginners and recreational paddlers will have a good course to run.”

A quick survey of Six Mile Falls – a popular spectator spot on the 16-mile race route – proved Willette’s point.

There’s plenty of water for some frothy fun, but the powerful flows of a year ago are a distant memory.

The race will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Kenduskeag Village. Preregistration is advised, and those who register on race day must do so between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. The entry fee increases on race day, from $18 to $30 per paddler.

Construction work on the Valley Avenue bridge over the Kenduskeag – a mandatory portage during the race – is ongoing, but will not affect the paddlers on Saturday, Willette said.

“Obviously that’s still a working construction area, but the [Maine Department of Transportation] has been very cooperative with us concerning the race,” Willette said. “They’re going to move their equipment around so that it won’t affect our portage areas. They’re going to move their silt screen aside. So it shouldn’t look a whole lot different as far as participants being able to portage than it ever has.”

Trailers and construction equipment will still be on the site, but will not present any problems, Willette said.

Willette said the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic, however, and advised paddlers to exit the water on the right side of the river.

“Where they re-graded on the left side of the stream is still relatively new material, so if folks choose to portage on that side, they may find the going a little loose,” Willette said. “So we encourage people to go out on the right if they can.”

Willette had a couple more suggestions that could help make the day’s race safer and more enjoyable for participants.

“One thing we have noticed the last couple of years [is paddlers] starting to tether their paddles to themselves,” Willette said.

Doing so is a fairly common practice among sea kayakers, but should be avoided by whitewater paddlers.

“We encourage folks not to do that,” Willette said. “That can lead to some real problems if they should happen to go in.”

Last year at least one paddler dumped in a whitewater section of the river while tethered to his paddle, and his rescue was hampered by a lack of mobility exacerbated by the attached paddle.

Another tip that many paddlers have learned (the hard way) over the years: Don’t assume that the valuables you stash in your canoe will make it to the finish line with you.

“It’s amazing what we end up collecting here in regard to equipment, people’s personal items such as car keys, cameras, wallets, those kinds of things,” Willette said

The veteran race director had a word of advice for all paddlers that will help them avoid losing items in the stream after capsizing: Leave it behind.

“Travel light,” Willette said. “It’s easier to track down a friend or family member to retrieve a cell phone or wallet than it is to try to retrieve it out of the stream.”

A year ago, many paddlers learned that lesson the hard way, as high water overwhelmed many participants.

Some canoes were permanently lost, along with anything the paddlers took with them. Willette said race organizers make every effort to return retrieved items to the paddlers, but sometimes that’s simply not possible.

And each year, you can find many bewildered paddlers along the race route, wondering how they’re going to contact their loved ones to get a ride back to their cars … if they still know where their keys are.

Leaving items with a non-participant, then planning a post-race meeting place is one tactic that experienced paddlers utilize to avoid frustration after the race.

Then, there are only two thing to worry about: Getting to the finish line as fast as you can … and staying as dry as possible along the way.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

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