Kayaking
Paddle Smart to flood Bangor with presentations and prizes this weekend
Believe it or not, spring is here, and soon, ice will melt away from Maine’s many waterways. It’s just about time to dust off paddles, clean creepy crawlies out of cockpits, and recall just where you crammed the life jackets last fall. The next step is to brush up on ...
How to choose the right canoe or kayak
Paddle your own canoe. The idiom means something like “act independently” or “decide your own fate.” But before you can paddle your own literal canoe (or kayak), you have to purchase one. And that is something that is best done with a little bit of help. Maine outfitters and sporting ...
Schedule of 2013 Maine canoe and kayak races
St. George River Canoe and Kayak Race, 11 a.m. Saturday, March 30, at St. George River, Searsmont. Type: whitewater, 6 miles. Registration: 9 a.m., $20. Contact: 338-4598, director@waldocountyymca.org or waldocountyymca.org. 40th Annual Passagassawakeag River Race, 11 a.m. Saturday, April 6, at Passagassawakeag Stream, Morrill. Type: whitewater, 8 miles. Registration: 8:30 ...
Kenduskeag Stream paddlers share their stories
For nearly a half a century, paddlers have flocked to a local stream in mid-April for an event that has captured the region’s imagination. And alongside that stream, throngs of “river vultures” have stood vigil, waiting for the carnage to begin piling up. At places like Six Mile Falls and ...
Big water, big fun: Maine’s creek boaters go to extremes
Mike McVey remembers his first reaction after learning that a very experienced, very talented group of people who shared his passion for white water paddling had decided to seek newer, bigger water to challenge. “I always watched the videos on the internet of people hucking themselves off 60-, 80-, 100-foot ...
A cleaner Androscoggin brings out paddlers
By Greg Kwasnik, Sun Journal on July 21, 2012, at 6:39 a.m.
The paddle was the eighth leg of the Androscoggin Source to the Sea Trek, a 170-mile journey from the river's headwaters near the Canadian border to its terminus at Merrymeeting Bay in Brunswick.
Maine Island Trail now includes 200 places
The Associated Press on May 30, 2012, at 5:26 a.m.
PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Island Trail Association has reached a milestone. The association says it has added three islands to its coastal waterway, giving it 200 places that are now included in its “water trail” that links uninhabited islands and mainland sites on a 375-mile ocean trail from the ...
Water levels can change Marsh Stream in a flash
WINTERPORT, Maine — If I had to pick a favorite whitewater run in the Bangor region, without hesitation I would say the Marsh Stream. The main reason why I like it is, that it’s like paddling on a different stream with every 6 inches of change in the water level. ...
Couple on a 12,000-mile kayak expedition, connecting with students as they go
By Sam Cook, Duluth News Tribune, Minn. on May 07, 2012, at 11:15 a.m.
The West Coast and the Canadian wilderness are behind them. The next leg of Dave and Amy Freeman’s North American Odyssey will be more civilized. The Grand Marais couple leaves Wednesday from Grand Portage on a 4,900-mile sea-kayak trip to the East Coast and down to Key West, Fla. “We’ll ...
Maine paddler excels at Oklahoma City University
By Ed Godfrey, The Oklahoman on April 22, 2012, at 7:33 a.m.
A former cross-country skier in college, Kaitlyn McElroy has transformed herself into one of the best paddlers in the country.
VIDEO
Low water fails to deter Trevor MacLean in eighth Kenduskeag race victory
BANGOR, Maine — One of Maine’s rites of spring came face-to-face with mid-summer water conditions Saturday. “I’ve never seen it like this,” said Don Grant of Georgetown, who has served as the race starter for the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race for the past 43 years. “I’ve never seen it even ...
Looking back: A winter paddle from Lincolnville to Camden
By Gabor Degre, BDN Staff on April 16, 2012, at 2:36 p.m.
If you have the desire to paddle on the ocean Lincolnville Beach is just about perfect for getting kayaks in and out of the water. On an early February day we decided to put in at the wonderful, sandy beach that was partly covered with snow and set out for ...
Early Kenduskeag rapids provide a thrill
By Gabor Degre on April 09, 2012, at 1:40 p.m.
My guess is that I’m not even in the first 50,000 people who successfully negotiated the rapids of Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor. That perception does not bother me the least bit. I consider myself one of the many who ran the rapids with some anticipation, eventually reacting with a huge ...
VIDEO
Paddlers adapt to revised Passy route; kayaker Sands posts top time
WALDO, Maine — There was an unpredictable flavor to Saturday’s 39th annual Passagassawakeag River Race. Never before had what normally is a downriver trek from Waldo to Belfast also included some upstream paddling, but the need for race director Dale Cross to both shorten the route and make it an ...
VIDEO
Low water, rocky rapids fail to deter St. George race paddlers; Houlton’s Ludwig earns 10th victory
APPLETON, Maine — Two related topics dominated the post-race talk at Saturday’s 33rd St. George River Race. One was what the paddlers described as “bony” conditions, which describes a paucity of water in what normally are rapids that forces canoeists and kayakers into a lot of maneuvering to avoid uncovered ...
Water level not ideal, but St. George River Race set for Saturday
BELFAST, Maine — The water level may not be ideal for the first event of the region’s competitive canoe and kayak season, but organizers of the 33rd St. George River Race are ready to go as scheduled Saturday morning. More than 60 watercraft already were pre-registered for the 6-mile trek ...
Orrington kayak maker left a broad wake
During the spring and summer months, it’s virtually impossible to drive down a highway in Maine and travel more than 10 miles without passing a vehicle with a kayak or two on the roof rack. Earl H. Baldwin Jr. got into kayaking in an era when people would joke that ...
Maine Outdoor Education Program teaches students outdoor activities
By Brad Viles on Oct. 12, 2011, at 2:05 p.m.
BAXTER STATE PARK, Maine — This past Tuesday the woods around Upper Togue Pond in Baxter State Park were filled with the sounds of outdoor learning. Instructors with the New England Outdoor Center were explaining canoe strokes to their students. “OK, now you all have had instruction in the draw ...
JEFF STROUT
Time to think about colder water and paddling apparel
While there’s still plenty of time this fall to get out on our lakes and bays, it’s time to think spring when it comes to dressing for the experience. As the water temperatures drop it is important to begin dressing for colder water. If you’ve been paddling on the ocean ...
LEVI BRIDGES
Sun sets on great summer paddling adventure
By Levi Bridges on Sept. 23, 2011, at 6:19 p.m.
I spent one of my last nights on the Maine Island Trail camped in the yard of a couple who lives in Machiasport. A small grove of pine trees opposite a dirt road rising from the rugged Down East coast marked one of several mainland campsites in the area available ...
Former Bangor YMCA building sold to new dental technology school
University of Maine hockey job has been offered to former assistant Red Gendron
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After 27 years, a father continues to search for his daughter, presumed dead
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Maine GOP disappoints on Medicaid
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Lawrence, Connolly help UMaine advance to America East baseball title game
Bucksport’s Cassidy Adams strikes out 19 in single game
Jonesport-Beals basketball standout Garet Beal named Parade All-American
Hampden’s Norris among three players heading to Husson men’s basketball program
Maine Democrats stooped to the governor’s level with TV complaint
Maine’s beer industry continues to brew double-digit growth
‘All That’ actress Amanda Bynes arrested after allegedly tossing bong out apartment window on 36th floor
Have a drink, kiss a fish: Just another Saturday night, Newfoundland-style
