Amid the sounds of clashing boats and splashing oars at Holbrook’s Wharf, participants relied on senses other than sight to reach the finish line in the blindfolded dinghy races on Saturday, Aug. 2.
As part of the annual Cundy’s Harbor Days celebration, 16 teams competed in four races to see who could successfully pilot their dinghy around the docks the fastest. In each boat, one person guided their blindfolded teammate, who powered the oars.
Many guides adopted various strategies to communicate directions to their teammate, including elbowing, tapping knees and shouting orders over the crowd noise.
The winners of each race went head-to-head in a final race as onlookers cheered from above on the deck of Harborside Grill @ Holbrook’s. In the end, father-son duo Josh and Matthew Miller blew the competition out of the water, taking home bragging rights and a cash prize.
Following the dinghy races, more than 30 children donned life jackets and lined the docks, hoping to be the fastest kid to run across a string of 30 wooden lobster crates floating in the water.
In the under-100-pound category, only seven kids were able to balance on the crates with speed and agility, successfully evading the icy plunge waiting below, allowing them to advance to the next round. After a three-way tie in the time trial round, Tanner Weymouth, Levi Spencer and Frank Jean went head-to-head in one final race across the crates.
As Jean, age 10, took off from the dock, his sneakers barely graced each crate as he expertly sped across the bobbing obstacles. Within 14.2 seconds, Jean had defended his title from last year as lobster crate champion.
Following his win, numerous other competitors of all ages took to the dock to try their hand at the difficult course in the subsequent weight categories.
This year’s lobster crates had added meaning as well, as local students helped to build the crates with local woodworker Ann Flannery through the Harpswell Boatbuilders program, which she started in 2018.
Cundy’s Harbor Days, which ran from Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3, also featured a bingo night, fun run, lobster roll luncheon and ice cream social. The weekend celebration is put on by local community organizations including the Cundy’s Harbor Library, Holbrook Community Foundation and Cundy’s Harbor Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary.
Sunday morning kicked off with a Blessing of the Fleet led by Veronica Gonsior, pastor of the Cundy’s Harbor Community Church of the Nazarene, on the wharf behind Watson’s General Store.
Butch Lawson serenaded the crowd on acoustic guitar, singing “The Lighthouse” and “The Anchor Holds” before Gonsior led the audience in prayer.
“In this life, we will have peaceful, calm, easy sailing days, but we will also experience the deep waters of adversity,” Gonsior said during the prayer.
Then, over two dozen boats paraded by the dock to receive their blessing. Gonsior used a pine branch to bless each passing boat with water as the audience chanted, “God bless you and keep you.”
Afterwards, Gonsior took a boat into the harbor to lay a wreath honoring deceased loved ones.
The Cundy’s Harbor Days celebration culminated with a parade through the town. Locals waved from their colorful antique cars as fire engines blared their horns and local students danced and chanted with their own buoys.
Rosanna Welner even used bedsheets to create her own detailed Statue of Liberty costume. Perched in the back of a bright red pickup truck, Welner held one arm high with an expertly crafted torch while she cradled the Declaration of Independence in the other arm.
