The 2019 running of the Windjammer Days Cod Fish Race took place Wednesday, June 26 in front of the Whale Park in downtown Boothbay Harbor. For the second straight year, the field of competitors included 18 four-person teams. Runners came from as far away as North Carolina, Texas and California, but the big prizes and bragging rights all went to runners from the Boothbay peninsula.

Typically one of Windjammer Days' best attended events, the Cod Fish Race jammed Commercial Street with spectators the entire length of the course. This year’s crowd was an especially raucous one and was rewarded for their enthusiasm not only by a hotly contested four-person-team relay-style race, but also by the hilarious antics of the runners as they climbed into fisherman’s oilskins and boots, hauled two large, slimy pollock up and down the course, then passed off the oilskins, boots and fish to the next teammate.

The course was slightly modified this year to make the race more sprint than jog and our competitors didn’t disappoint, especially the winning team, the Ydals / Sister Act / Hometown, made up of Kristin Sibley, Lauren Andrews, Alexandra Andrews and Brad Bonny. The mostly Boothbay Harbor natives crossed the finish line in a scorching 3 minutes and 45 seconds and took home the $100 first place prize. Finishing a very close second with a time of 3 minutes and 48 seconds was another local team, the Orne’s Candy Crew featuring Rowan Kristan, Ellie Hilscher, Olivia Paolillo and Taylor Fish, which won $75. The $50 third place prize went to the Krusty Krabs who crossed the finish line in 3 minutes and 58 seconds. One of three teams fielded by East Boothbay’s Bigelow Labs, the Krusty Krabs included Riley Karp, Carlin Schildge, Kayla Clark and Mariah Ricci.

This year’s contest also boasted some of the youngest competitors in recent memory. The Flounders, a team from Boothbay Harbor and Southport, included three 9-year-olds and one 7-year-old making them the team with the lowest average age at 8.5 years; 7-year old Flounder member Mabel Kaler won the $25 Judge’s Prize, which is awarded annually for a totally random reason. This year that reason was “Smallest Racer.”

As BRHS alums, the Ydals / Sister Act / Hometown team qualified for the Best Finishing BRHS Team Prize of $100 which they generously donated back to the Windjammer Days organization.

Asked what makes a good Cod Fish racer, race sponsor and announcer Jack Herger remarked, “You have to be agile enough to get into and out of the oilskins and boots quickly, fast enough to get up and down the course quickly, and — perhaps most importantly — you must have excellent control of your gag reflex because those pollock just get gnarlier and gnarlier as the race wears on.”

With another Windjammer Days Cod Fish Race in the books, winners can celebrate, losers can lick their wounds, and everyone can begin plotting their strategy for next year’s competition.