Less than two hours after builders opened the Boothbay Harbor footbridge for traffic June 29, they won the 2023 Tug Across The Harbor with a crowd of cheering spectators lined across the new construction. 

The footbridge team was mostly made up of workers from Fuller Marine Services and Lincoln Enterprises, who have been working on the Footbridge Renovation Project. Event organizers invited the workers to participate and recruited one volunteer from the crowd to fill the team’s roster.

The footbridge opened that day, at 10 a.m. A little over an hour later, the crew had won the competition. 

“We knew we had it in the bag,” said Will Dryer, a general laborer and the team’s captain. “We’ve got a great team of great guys who show up every day for this bridge. I thought it was a nice way to commemorate all the work we’ve put in.”

Other competitors included a team from Mine Oyster and a pickup team, Team Sonic, recruited from the crowd. Portland Sea Dog mascot Slugger even made an appearance to hype up the crowd and help competitors.