Whitewater racing
Double splash: Ludwig follows St. George win with victory in 'Passy'

WALDO (April 6): For the second straight week, Fred Ludwig of Houlton had the fastest boat on the water, this time winning the second of consecutive season-opening Waldo County YMCA-sponsored whitewater races.

Ludwig paddled his kayak across the six-mile course in 40 minutes and 25 seconds Saturday to finish first in the 35th annual Passagassawakeag "Passy" River Race.

Andrew Cross, left, and his father, Don Cross, of Morrill paddle through the rapids during the 35th annual Passagassawakeag "Passy" River Race Saturday. (Photo by Tina Shute)

Ludwig also won the St. George River Race, a six-mile journey from Searsmont to Appleton, the week before. Ludwig finished that race in 41:29.

The St. George and Passy races are the first two on the Maine Canoe & Kayak Racing Organization's schedule. Both races are sponsored by the Waldo County YMCA.

Adam Smith and J.C. Miller of Morrill maneuver their canoe just ahead of Ben Fuller of Cushing. (Photo by Tina Shute)

There were 74 boats and 117 paddlers in Saturday's Passy race.

Of note was the remarkable performance of the Lunt family from Tenants Harbor. Paula Lunt finished first in the kayak short division, beating 10 other paddlers, including nine male kayakers, to finish in 47:31. Lunt beat second-place finisher Dan Kelley of Bucksport (47:39) by eight seconds.

Lunt's husband, William, and son Nicholas combined to finish second in the OC2 recreation medium category, with a time of 45:05. The father and son finished second to another talented father/son combination, Dale and Aaron Cross of Morrill, who won the division in 44:58 — seven seconds faster than the Lunts.

The race began at the Littlefield Farm in Waldo. The first mile was flat water with many curves. The course passed under a cement bridge to another mile of flat water followed by a short stretch of Class II rapids. Then there was a two-mile stretch of flat water to the Rolerson's Bridge, then Class I, II and III whitewater for a mile and a half, leading to a flat-water stretch to the finish.

Peter Muth of Spruce Head works through the rapids in Saturday's race. (Photo by Tina Shute)

The individual results from Saturday's Passy race were:

Century recreation — 1, Maber Cronkite and Tom Cronkite, Etna, 45:49; 2, Rick O'Donald, Newburgh, and Paul Brown, Swanville, 46:05; 3, Peter Blood, Houlton, and Mike Sprowl, Brownville, 46:54; and 4, Brad Krog, Bowdoin, and Bob Miller, Harmony, 49:26.

College — 1, Quinn Boyle and Tiffany Dorsey, Unity College, 1:07.20; 2, Zachary Schmesser and Josh Youse, Unity College, 57:55; and 3, Elizabeth Pierson and Xander Kennedy, Unity College, 1:08:22.

Kayak — 1, Ludwig, Houlton, 40:25; 2, Ray Wirth, Belfast, 40:57; 3, Jeff Sands, 41:57; 4, H.I. Hasey, Eddington, 45:55; 5, Chris Burton, Limington, 47:31; 6, Dan Baumet, Levant, 50:10; 7, Ben Fuller, Cushing, 50:18; 8, Glenn Montgomery, Belfast, 52:23; and 9, Thatcher Silar, Lincolnville, 57:34.

Kayak short — 1, P. Lunt, Tenants Harbor, 47:31; 2, Kelley, Bucksport, 47:39; 3, Cheryl Levin, Warren, 47:49; 4, Mark Bamford, Bucksport, 48:52; 5, Larry Merrill, Orrington, 49:10; 6, Earl Baldwin Jr., Orrington, 50:23; 7, Dick Hanson, Orrington, 52:19; 8, Chris Piik, St. George, 56:41; 9, Ben Potter, Belfast, 57:22; 10, Michael Bigos, Auburn, 57:31; and 11, Samuel Betts, 1:05:58.

OC1 — 1, John Alsop, Cornville, 45:45; and 2, Chad Meyers, Camden, 53:30.

OC1 recreation — 1, Joe Dana, Indian Island, 50:31; 2, Bill Deighan, Newburgh, 51:00; 3, Greg Shute, Alna, 51:25; 4, D.W. Smith, Lamoine, 51:57; 5, Mark Rosborough, Ellsworth, 52:39; 6, Bob Mitchell, Buxton, 54:52; and 7, Dan Merrill, Holden, 57:39.

Elizabeth Pierson, front, and Xander Kennedy of Unity College paddle through the rapids. (Photo by Tina Shute)

OC2 junior/senior — 1, Adelene Hills, Belmont, and Dan Littlefield, Waldo, 49:47; 2, Kerry Eason, Greenbush, and Gary Brooks, Dixmont, 52:59; and 3, Jackson Winslow and Aaron Winslow, Belmont, 54:10.

OC2 junior/senior recreation — 1, Dan Lesser and Jeff Owen, Orono, 45:18; 2, Dick Kelley and Brian Kelley, Brewer, 46:20; 3, Clayton Cole, Corinth, and Ethan Dana, Old Town, 46:51; 4, Richard Heath and Adrian Heath, Gardiner, 51:12; 5, Mike Kelley and Tyler Kelley, 52:36; 6, Ryan Vienneau, Milford, and Chip Loring, Old Town, 52:48; 7, Andrew Cross and Don Cross, 54:46; and 8, Ed Lindsey and Siobhan Harrity, Orono, 1:11:39.

OC2 mixed recreation — 1, Sarah Dingle and Matt Dingle, Carmel, 45:03; 2, Tammy Kelley, Lamoine, and Bob Hessler, Ellsworth, 47:39; and 3, Sandra Mitchell, Buxton, and Terry Wescott, Thorndike, 52:03.

OC2 mixed — 1, Alan Paradis, Pittsfield, N.H., and Priscilla Reinertson, Contoocook, N.H., 44:46.

OC2 recreation medium — 1, Aaron Cross and Dale Cross, Morrill, 44:58; 2, W. Lunt and N. Lunt, Tenants Harbor, 45:05; 3, Dan Wagner, Belfast, and Greg Dorr, Bangor, 45:026; 4, Cliff Littlefield, Waldo, and Joe Littlefield, Knox, 45:43; 5, Matt Morin, Orrington, and Gary Martin, Hampden, 45:56; 6, Brad Coffey and Jeff Wahlstrom, Bangor, 49:37; 7, Mike Erskine, Sidney, and Caleb Easton, Oakland, 52:04; 8, Matthew Levin, Warren, and Peter Scheib, Camden, 52:28; 9, Shawn Burke, Andover, Mass., and John Meader, Fairfield, 52:47; and 10, Josh Stoll, Lamoine, and Brian Walls, Otter Creek, 53:07.

OC2 recreation short — 1, Brian Battista, Parsonsfield, and John Bragdon, Denmark, 52:26; and 2, Brian Gerrish, Bailey Island, and Schuyler Kelley, Penobscot, 1:00:20.

OC2 women — 1, Meredith Currier, Rockport, and Sue Conover, Camden, 55:58.

OC2WW — 1, Kevin Coombs, Belfast, and Brian Wagner, Lisbon, 52:44; 2, Brandon Hurd, Waldo, and Russell Varney, Belfast, 57:47; 3, Adam Smith and J.C. Miller, Morrill, 57:55; 4, Logan Feeney, Knox, and Daniel Pellerin, Montville, 58:13; 5, Peter Hastings and Michael Hastings, Bar Harbor, 1:01:53; and 6, Randy Walls and Mark Wasson, Otter Creek, 1:06:31.

More photos from the race will appear later with this story.