Two canoe and kayak races in the greater Bangor area could be challenging even to skilled paddlers thanks to high and fast water in their respective streams.
The eighth annual Eliot Lamb Memorial Souadabscook Stream whitewater race will be held Saturday, April 13, followed on Sunday, April 14, by the Marsh Stream Downriver race. The Marsh Stream race has whitewater as well.
Canoe and kayak races in Maine traditionally draw people of all skill levels for some spring fun, but this weekend’s racing could bring the state’s best whitewater paddlers to meet the fast water challenges.
“These races are more technical than St. George and Passy (Passagassawakeag River Race) because of the high, fast water,” said Dawn Lamb, Eliot’s mother, on Wednesday.
The Souadabscook Stream race was dedicated in 2016 to Eliot Lamb, who died in 2015 in a work-related accident. He was a registered Maine guide and a registered Maine whitewater rafting guide, but his death was not related to those skills.
The race offers chances for every skill level because the family wanted to honor Eliot’s dream of making it possible for children, novice paddlers and whitewater enthusiasts to participate in the sport he loved, according to the race website.
Many of the emergency rescue volunteers for this event are registered Maine whitewater rafting guides with first aid, CPR and swift water rescue training, Lamb said. Many of them are Eliot’s friends.
The Lamb family also took over running the Marsh Stream Downriver Race, when it looked like it would be discontinued in 2023.
Alexandra Horne, co-coordinator of the races, said the inch of rain expected Friday will make the water move faster than usual, upping the technical challenges. She said it would be difficult to speculate on potential turnout because more rain could deter some people while warmer air temperatures might bring them out.
There will be extra rescue personnel staged near the rapids, plus some in kayaks after the rapids to help paddlers recover if necessary, she said.
The only other concern about the races is whether there will be the 3-foot clearances needed for paddlers to go under the Interstate 95 overpasses, Horne said. It all could come down to how much rain falls on through Friday.
Horne plans to race in the rapids course too.
“Both (Souadabscook and Marsh) are harder whitewater races, but they are a good warmup for the Kenduskeag (Stream Canoe and Kayak) race the next weekend,” she said.
The two races are the third and fourth, respectively, in the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization’s spring circuit.
The Souadabscook race begins at noon. Registration is from 9:30 to 11 a.m., followed by a safety meeting at 11:30 a.m. at Vafiades Landing in Hampden for all courses. The entire course is 7.5 miles. Start lines for the downriver and short course races will be Vafiades Landing, and Manning Mill Bridge for the whitewater course. The downriver and whitewater courses end at Hampden Water Works. Cost is $20 for American Canoe Association members and $25 for non-members. There is race-day registration. Details are available at inmemoryofeliot.wixsite.com/souadabscookrace .
The Marsh Stream Downriver Race begins at 11 a.m., which is a new start time for this event. The pre-race meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the put-in at the intersection of Stream Road and Dam Road in Winterport on Route 139. Registration is from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Winterport Snowmobile Club on Pine View Drive. Registration is $20 for ACA members and $25 for non-members. Two courses if proper safety is available. Helmets required. Air bags recommended. Details are available at inmemoryofeliot.wixsite.com/souadabscookrace.
A combined awards ceremony for both races will be held after Sunday’s event.
