An enthusiastic crowd gathered on the footbridge and in the adjacent parking lot to cheer on the Tug of War Across the Harbor teams June 30, the final day of the 56th Annual Windjammer Days Festival in Boothbay Harbor. Emcee Doug Gimbel kept things lively with his quick wit and engaging humor. Co-emcee Darrell Gudroe exchanged banter with Gimbel and covered the east side pulls.

The Clear Stream Construction crew won every pull - their first against Marden Builders was a beaut, the longest pull of the event. And then there was an unexpected turn of events in their final pull versus Marden Builders on the east side. Clear Stream Construction had 12 people, Marden had, according to one spectator on the east side, 20 people. Say what?!

No one knew what was happening when event coordinator Chris Gleason suddenly jumped in to pull with the Clear Stream team - and jumped back out just as quickly and sounded the horn. After hearing what Gleason had observed, Gimbel pronounced Clear Stream the winners. But, hey, these are the shenanigans that add a bit of drama, and all in good fun!

A third team was pulled together from among the spectators. Members hailed from Mississippi, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Florida and Auburn. Their team name: The Winners. Their expectation: high. Their performance: awesome.

Congratulations Chris Bertin and the crew of Clear Stream Construction! The team is the fourth to win the event. Bertin’s company joins Knickerbocker Group (2015), Marden Home Builders (2016), and Valley Beverage/Budweiser (2017) on the ginormous trophy!