HOULTON, Maine – The whitewater racing season continues with the Meduxnekeag River Canoe Race Saturday morning in New Limerick.
The eight-mile race, a decades old Houlton harbinger of spring, draws experienced paddlers competing in the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization Down River Point Series and recreational paddlers who come for the fun and challenge.
Last year, 97 paddlers from around the state participated. Longtime race organizer Jane Torres, executive director of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, said she expects at least that many for this year’s race.
The race begins at 10 a.m. at Lynwood Wellington’s house on the Station Road in New Limerick, about a half-mile from Cameron’s store, and wraps up at Houlton’s Gateway Bridge and Riverfront Park at about noon.
This year’s racing season poses challenges for racers. Some events, like the Kenduskeag Slalom in Bangor, slated for Saturday and Sunday, have been canceled due to low water levels.
Maine river race expert Peter Blood, who ran the Meduxnekeag race for many years, comes back from Florida each year to work with Torres. He prefers a race with very little water because it is safer, Torres said.
“They might have to get out and portage a little bit,” she said.
Blood, 78, and his longtime paddling partner, Clint Cushman, were known in their younger years as the team to beat, he said last year.
The racing duo of Blood and Cushman ran the Meduxnekeag River Race for 15 years before the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce took it over.
The two paddlers won first place in the 1996 Down River Point Series.
According to Blood, Saturday’s race gives everyone a chance to compete against padders with similar boats and abilities because there are so many categories. Although he discourages those with no river experience from entering because the river is challenging and features major drops.
Paddlers have to be especially cautious when maneuvering Devil’s Elbow early in the race behind the Tate and Lyle plant in New Limerick. The fast moving waters and rocky spots have dumped plenty of paddlers into the river. First responders are generally positioned in this location of the race.
The mandatory race briefing begins at 9:30 a.m. and the first group of paddlers is in the water at 10 a.m.
“The first 10 minutes of the race are usually the paddlers vying for their overall points in the state, ” Torres said. “We send them out first because they’re moving fast.”
At Riverfront Park there will be the traditional barbecue lunch for the paddlers, an awards ceremony, door prizes including a pass to camp in the North Maine Woods, as well as a bag of Maine potatoes from Nature’s Circle.
Racers can register the day of the race, $20 adults, $15 under 18. The first 70 get a T-shirt. Check-in at the race site is from 8 to 9:30 a.m.
For information, contact Torres at 207-532-4216 or director@greaterhoulton.com.
