BANGOR – With the sometimes meandering Kenduskeag Stream transformed into a swift-moving April torrent, Houlton kayaker Fred Ludwig obeyed on essential rule on Saturday.

“Just hang on,” Ludwig said after he and partner Steve Moser had maneuvered their Olympic-style two-man boat down the stream to an overall win in the 35th Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race Saturday.

“Several times, I would just close my eyes. I would see these waves coming, and they were huge. This boat, there’s no volume to it, so it doesn’t ride over waves. It goes through ’em,” Ludwig said.

“I’d close my eyes, open ’em up and hope there wasn’t another wave right after it. And if [there was], all you do is keep paddling. And hope your paddle’s hitting water.”

Most of the time, Ludwig’s paddle (and Moser’s) ended up hitting water: they posted a speedy time of 1 hour, 55 minutes, 34 seconds over the 16-mile course. The course record remains the 1:50:08 posted by Robert Lang in 1997.

Moser, meanwhile, said his job was pretty easy.

“This is Fred’s boat. He steers. He’s got the rudder. He sets the pace. And all I’ve got to do is sit back here and match his stroke,” Moser said.

Moser and Ludwig lost the use of their rudder 100 yards into the race but still were able to defeat another Olympic two-man kayak for overall honors, as Jeff Sands and Bryan McCarthy finished 81 seconds back.

Top kayaker Kenny Cushman made his seasonal debut with a 1:59:52 clocking and a third-place finish, while the two-man racing canoeists garnered the next three places.

Brothers Chris and Troy Francis of Indian Island turned in the fastest canoe time of the day, a blazing 2:03:28. Clayton Cole and Paul Cole were fifth in 2:05:44.

In all, 478 boats were entered in the race, and 374 finished.

The Francis brothers were gratified by their win, which came after a string of Kenduskeag performances they termed sub-par.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better race, especially knowing that we’ve trained from January on, and all the work we’ve put in,” Chris Francis said. “Paddling at night, right after work, in the dark. It feels good that all that time we put in paid off.”

The Francises made a New Year’s promise to themselves to take their paddling more seriously, Chris said, and got right to work.

They found “a secret spot,” where tidal water didn’t freeze, and logged many hours on the water.

Troy Francis said he and Chris struggled with one of the day’s biggest questions: Paddle or portage?

While recreational paddlers often gauge their race success based on how dry they are after negotiating Six Mile Falls, the real racers often choose to forego that portion of the river and save wear and tear on their expensive boats.

“We considered running it this year,” Troy Francis said, “But we hit the back of our boat pretty hard the other night and cracked it up, so we didn’t want to take another blow to it and lose the race.”

The only difficulty the Francises encountered came on the last drop of the race, about three-quarters of a mile from the finish in downtown Bangor.

“We got swamped, actually,” Troy Francis said with a chuckle. “We had to pull off on shore and we lost about 20 seconds.”

Ludwig and Moser knew they weren’t going to run Six Mile Falls … until they actually got close to Six Mile Falls and realized that they hadn’t put any ground between themselves and Sands and McCarthy.

Adding to the confusion: starting line gossip had indicated that Sands and McCarthy weren’t going to take their boat out of the water at the popular set of rips.

Moser said trying to mislead an opponent is a good-natured part of the race.

“We’re pretty good friends with those guys, but that doesn’t mean we’re completely honest, either,” he said with a laugh.

And as he and Ludwig approached the falls, Moser asked his partner if he’d reconsidered their plan.

“I told Fred, ‘If they run it, we’re gonna lose,'” Moser said.

But Sands said that really wasn’t an option: He scouted the water on Friday night and didn’t like what he saw.

“There were just no good routes down Six Mile Falls to take,” Sands said. “It was kind of bony, and we would have broke our boat. It’s just ledge, and this is a flat water boat we’re racing.”

Both teams portaged, with Ludwig and Moser getting to the take-out spot first. They gradually built up a lead over the race’s final six miles of white water.

For some teams, like canoeists Daryl Boyington of Hampden, Larry Doucette of Dummerston, Vt., and Dan Pelletier of Alton racing and winning was not a real goal.

The trio paddle a craft that is always a favorite of spectators: An inflatable Gumby rides shotgun in the middle of the boat. That’s a tradition that has spanned 15 years.

“We paddled along pretty hard, but it’s not racing,” said Pelletier, who spends much of his time on the water as a Registered Maine Guide. “Like Daryl says, ‘If you can’t be fast, be funny.'”

The Gumby guys tried something new this year, as they pulled into an eddy just above the main drop at Six Mile Falls, got themselves situated, then ran the falls backward … and successfully.

“That was intentional, but we were pushing the envelope a little bit,” Pelletier said. “It went well, but it could have went the other way.”

And after spending years in a canoe, Pelletier knows not to take anything for granted.

“In canoeing, you never say, ‘It won’t happen to me,'” he said. “The river gods keep you in line.”

Canoe racing

LOCAL

Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race

Overall results: 1. Fred Ludwig-Steve Moser 1:55:34, 2. Jeff Sands-Brian McCarthy 1:56:55, 3. Kenny Cushman 1:59:52, 4. Troy Francis-Chris Francis 2:03.28, 5. Clayton Cole-Paul Cole 2:05:44, 6. Matt Waddle-Robert Waddle 2:06:14, 7. Jamie Hannon 2:08:11, 8. John Alsop-Bill Anderson 2:08:53, 9. Paul Brown-Greg McMorrow 2:09:01, 10. Pris Reinertsen-Alan Paradise 2:13:31, 11. Clint Cushman-Peter Blood 2:13:48, 12. Greg Dorr-Justin Wardwell 2:14:02, 13. Brad Helfer-Terje Reinertsen 2:15:16, 14. Richie Bartlett-Bob martin 2:16:24, 15. Angus Deighan-Bill Deighan 2:17:10, 16. J.R. Mabee-L. Mabee-J. Cangelosi 2:18:09, 17. Dan Thayer-Richard Johnson 2:18:17, 18. Chris Bartlett-J.D. Burke 2:19:13, 19. Daniel Wagner-Shane Whitcomb 2:20:06, 20. Cynthia Muir-Bob Hessler 2:20:34, 21. Steven Magee 2:22:38, 22. Dick Kelley 2:23:28, 23. Brad Krog-Terry Wescott 2:24:42, 24. Jason Campbell-Ralph Robertson 2:25:42, 25. Walt Abbott-Frank Knight 2:26:11

26. Dick Hanson 2:26:29, 27. Jon Eames-Eric Taylor 2:26:49, 28. Brenda Zollitsch-Reinhard Zollitsch 2:27:01, 29. Kevin Bryer-Justin Harmon 2:27:03, 30. Matthew Levin 2:27:08, 31. R. Muir-K. Muir-I. Gilbert-K. Abbott 2:27:26, 32. Jon Wescott-Don Wescott 2:27:29, 33. Mark Bamford 2:28:04, 34. Benjamin Levy-Bernie Levy 2:29:18, 35. Chad Nickerson-Brad Lindelof 2:29:25, 36. Dawn Williams-Dan Kelley 2:30:02, 37. John Greene 2:30:13, 38. Art Taylor-Brian Stuart 2:30:14, 39. Rick Eason-Rob Elliott 2:32:03, 40. Larry Merrill 2:32:57, 41. M. Carter-J. Carter.-F. Carter-J. Carter 2:33:11, 42. Rick Quaintance-Sarah Quaintance 2:33:26, 43. Christy Stout-Ander Thebaud 2:33:40, 44. Bret Vicary-Sam Garwood 2:33:48, 45. Dick Storch-Kevin Dow 2:34:54, 46. J. Walters-B. Burke-D. Burke 2:35:01, 47. John Cary-Patty Glidden 2:35:05, 48. Rick O’Donald-Josh O’Donald 2:35:22, 49. Shawn Rhoda-Jason York 2:35:35, 50. Tammy Kelley-B. Pierson 2:35:41

Class awards

Open: Fred Ludwig-Steve Moser 1:55:34, Jeff Sands-Bryan McCarthy 1:56:55, J.R. Mabee-L. Mabee-J. Cangelosi 2:18:09; C2 long: Paul Brown-Greg McMorrow 2:09:01, Dick Storch-Kevin Dow 2:34:54, Joseph Osgbood-Tom Kenyon 2:57:19; C2 medium experienced: Troy Francis-Chris Francis 2:03:28, Clayton Cole-Paul Cole 2:05:44, Matt Waddle-Robert Waddle 2:06:14; C2 short experienced: Richie Bartlett-Bob Martin 2:16:24, Dan Thayer-Richard Johnson 2:18:17, Kevin Bryer-Justin Harmon 2:27:03; C1 experienced: Jamie Hannon 2:08:11, John Adams 2:36:10, Gary Brooks 2:36:51; C2 mixed experienced: Pris Reinertsen-Alan Paradise 2:13:31, Cynthia Muir-Bob Hessler 2:20:34, Brenda Zollitsch-Reinhard Zollitsch 2:27:01; K1 long: Kenny Cushman 1:59:52, Matthew Levin 2:27:08, John Greene 2:30:13; K1 short: Steven Magee 2:22:38, Dick Kelley 2:23:28, Dick Hanson 2:26:29; K1 short women: Hope Hyde 3:32:54, Patricia Van Horne 3:50:45, Sandra Eustis Brackett 4:49:07; century: John Alsop-Bill Anderson 2:08:53, Clint Cushman-Peter Blood 2:13:48, Brad Helfer-Terje Reinertsen 2:15:16; senior/junior: Rick O’Donald-Josh O’Donald 2:35:22, Nate Rosenblatt-Alex Rosenblatt 3:13:19, Clarice Chavaree-Alvia Moore 3:24:07; C2 women: Kate Judy-Jane Brann 3:14:21; C2 women recreational: Christy Stout-Ander Thebaud 2:33:40, Tammy Kelley-B. Pierson 2:35:41, Tulle Frazer-Karen Hinchen 2:50:03; senior/junior rec: Angus Deighan-Bill Deighan 2:17:10, Stephen Hardy-Justin Hardy 2:48:41, Randy Cobb-Jackie Cobb 3:08:02; C2 mixed rec: Dawn Williams-Dan Kelley 2:30:02, Rick Quaintance-Sarah Quaintance 2:33:26, John Cary-Patty Glidden 2:35:05; C2M rec: Greg Dorr-Justin Wardwell 2:14:02, Chris Bartlett-J.D. Burke 2:19:13, Daniel Wagner-Shane Whitcomb 2:20:06; C2S rec: Brad Krog-Terry Wescott 2:24:42, Chad Nickerson-Brad Lindelof 2:29:25, Kevin Wentzell-Darren Gray 2:40:13; C1 men rec: Greg Shute 2:39:27, D.W. Smith 2:42:33, Bob Winslow 3:02:20; C1 women rec: Melissa Howes 3:03:21, Candy Perkins 3:31:01, Nancy Gero 3:59:20; C2M beginner: Philip Gerard-Peter Pfister 2:36:28, Morgan Densley-Morgn Shareare 2:40:42, Joseph Sockabasin-Clayton Sockabasin 2:44:22; C2S beginner: Tim Wood-Doug Wood 2:45:04, Richard Thompson-Gary Thompson 2:53:57, Adam Crary-Brandon Tschorn 2:54:59; C2 mixed beginner: Norma Vivar-Orum-Larry Orum 2:57:32, Chris Spellman-Lori Leanord 2:58:59, Jen Broughton-Matthew Broughton 3:14:21

Marsh Stream Sprint

At Frankfort

Century: 1. Terry Wescott-Brad Krog 7:03; K-1 short: 1. Dick Kelley 6:44; OC-1 rec: 1. Angus Deighan 7:23, 2. Chad Nickerson 7:45; OC-2 jr/sr: 1. Rick O’Donald-Caleb O’Donald 7:34; OC-2 jr/sr Rec: 1. Patrick Deighan-Bill Deighan 6:48; 2. Rudy Rawcliff-MacKenzie Rawcliff 7:56; OC-2M med: 1. Clayton Cole-Paul Cole 6:14, 2. Dan Littlefield-Cliff Littlefield 8:35; OC-2M med rec: 1. Rick O’Donald-Matt Dingle 6:30, 2. J.D. Burke-Chris Bartlett 6:32, 3. Angus Deighan-Bill Deighan 6:50, 4. Shane Whitcomb-Dan Wagner 6:52, 5. Joe Littlefield-Cliff Littlefield 8:51; OC-2M short: Terry Wescott-Brad Krog 7:08; OC-2M short rec: 1. Dawn Williams-Brad Krog 7:37; OC-2X rec: 1. Leslie Winchester-J.R. Mabee 6:49, 2. Dawn Williams-Dan Kelley 7:10, 3. Michelle Brown-Paul Brown 6:31