The sweet smell of victory was pungent in downtown Boothbay Harbor during the annual Windjammer Days Cod Fish Races June 28. The Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club team, Shmaker’s Bay, successfully defended its 2022 title. 

The team made up of Cyrus Blake, Toby Clarkson, Holden Langenhagen and Theo Crocetti finished in 3:21:76. The Shipyard Squids, from The Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor, took second place in 3:51:45. In third were the Carolina Reapers from North and South Carolina, in 4:06:49.

Jack Herger, who has sponsored the race for around 10 years, said the shipyard and yacht club teams have often competed neck-and-neck. “(They) are both big supporters of this whole event so it’s great to have them come back year after year," he said. 

There were 13 competing teams in the race, according to Herger. He said the race is always unpredictable and fun due to how many kids get involved.

"The people who show up to do it have a lot of fun, and it’s a very diverse group of people age wise," he said. "This was an exceptionally good year.”

The teams included a band of volunteers from the crowd who, not deterred by deteriorating fish or the shedding scales, signed up on impulse after a mid-race call from officials who needed more competitors. The mixed-age team, the Dogfish, won the official’s choice award.

"What else is there more Maine than this,” said Skylar Valentinis-Dee, a team member who has been coming to Maine for around 10 years. “This was definitely fun and spur of the moment ... Just fun in general with all the energy and camaraderie of the town. It was really inviting altogether, and that’s what I've found Maine and Boothbay to be. Just an inviting, great place to be.”