ROCHESTER — With the crack of a starting pistol the annual Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race began at Grandma Hartley’s Reservoir on Monday, May 29.

Forty-seven teams readied their boats and prepared themselves for the 12-mile journey toward Mattapoisett.

At this year’s race, kayaks were allowed entry. Four kayakers navigated the river alongside the hand-made and hand-painted canoes that traditionally make the journey.

At the halfway point of the race at Wolfe Island Road, spectators gathered to cheer on the paddlers.

There, contestants have a choice of route. They can choose to go under Wolfe Island Road through a culvert or take their boat out of the water and run across the street.

According to volunteer timekeeper Elizabeth Cronin, going through the culvert is faster. She added that the water was high enough this year the route under the road was feasible.

“They go right through [the culvert], but you have to almost lay down on your boat to go through,” she said. “When the water is high you … can lay down and scoop right through … this race is all about timing.”

For Cronin, this race represents a lot of family history — her uncle Arthur Benner is this year’s race chairperson and has participated in the race for decades.

“It’ll be sad to ever see [this race] go because it’s a lot of work and not a lot of people into it,” said Cronin. “At one time there were over 100 [entrants] but now if you look at it, it’s dwindling down.”

Mattapoisett resident Brad Hathaway, 91, watched the race with his family while sitting on the side of the river at the Wolfe Island Road stop. Hathaway has been spectating the boat race for most of his long life.

In fact, according to Hathaway, he and his family cleared out the Wolfe Island Road cranberry bog that now serves as one of the more popular spectator spots along the route.

“When I was a teenager, my brother and I had to come up here to work — summers, weekends and it wasn’t an enjoyable experience — we cleared it out, it was all maple swamps,” he said.

But now that he can just sit and relax, Hathaway “loves the boat race.”

“I come every year. Now I bring my kids here — or they bring me,” he said with a laugh.

The overall winners of the boat race were Bill Watling III, Rochester, and Daniel Rittenhouse, Mattapoisett, with a time of 1:57:25.

This is Watling’s seventh consecutive win and 10th win overall, this is Rittenhouse’s first time in the race.

“It’s an experience, that’s for sure,” said Rittenhouse. “It was a beautiful day, good river conditions — it felt pretty good, the water was pretty consistent throughout.”

Placing first in the Co-Ed division were Heather Veilleux, Rochester, and C.J. Hedges IV with a time of 2:08:22.

In the Parent/Child Division Katelyn Watling, Rochester, and Alyssa Watling, Rochester, finished first with 2:20:16.

Anthony Coelho, Middleboro, finished first in the Kayak Division with a time of 2:27:21.

Chelsea Allen, Spencer, and Megan Lewis, New Bedford, finished first in the Women’s Division with a time of 2:31:14. With this win, Allen and Lewis secured their third consecutive win and were awarded the Bill Watling Memorial Trophy.

And in the Junior Boys Division, Henri Roy, Rochester, and Mason Zell, Rochester finished first with a time of 2:57:22.

Finally, every year, the oldest person finishing the boat race receives the Old Man River Award, and this year it went to David Carlen, Mattapoisett.